State of Illinois 

. 

State Civil Service Commission 

- 


Manual of Examinations 



SPRINGFIELD 


1915 

T ' " " ' ~ 

































State of Illinois 

State Civil Service Commission 


Manual of Examinations 



JAMES H. BURDETT, President, Chicago 
DR. A. B. CULHANE, Rockford 
WILLIAM B. MOULTON, Chicago 





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<TWADEtlrr i° riCOUNCIL> 

Springfield, III. 

Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers 

19 14 


i>, OF 0. 

MAB it 1915 









CONTENTS 


Page. 

Chap. I. General Information. 5 

Chap. II. Training and Experience. 13 

Chap. III. Clerical Positions. 15 

Chap. IV. Stenographic Positions. 20 

Chap. V. Inspection Positions (Grain and Food). 29 

Chap. VI. Medical and Nursing Positions. 33 

Chap. VII. Minor Hospital Positions. 36 

Chap. VIII. Insurance Department Positions. 37 

Chap. IX. Teaching Positions. 40 

Chap. X. Prison Positions. 43 

Chap. XI. Miscellaneous Positions. 46 

Chap. XII. Skilled Labor Positions. 58 

Index . 61 

















































































































































































































































































































































































































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CHAPTER I 


GENERAL INFORMATION. 

One of the largest employers in Illinois is the State government. It is 
constantly hiring men and women at good pay for dignified, honorable work. 

Until 1905 the State’s employees were chosen by the elected officers and 
by their appointees without any specified test of fitness. They could employ 
whom they wished and were generally guided in their selection by political 
considerations. 

In 1905 the first State Civil Service Law was passed, applying only to 
employees of the charitable institutions, and in 1911 an amendment extended 
the law to most of the other positions in the State service. The law says 
the Civil Service Commission shall act as an employment bureau for the 
State and that State positions are open to all citizens, no matter what their 
politics or influence, who can demonstrate their fitness to do the State’s 
work. Having secured such a position you may retain it so long as you 
perform your duties well and lead a correct life. You cannot be ousted for 
political or religious reasons and you are guaranteed by the law a just 
hearing of your case by unprejudiced officers, if for any cause complaint 
should be made against you. 

At all times the road to higher grades of work with better pay is open. 


WHAT CLASSIFICATION MEANS. 

The positions in the service are classified, 'ihis means a study is made 
of the duties performed by each employee and the qualifications properly 
demanded of the applicants for each place. Then all the places which have 
substantially the same duties and qualifications are given the same civil 
service title and said to be in the same grade. 

Thus the whole service is divided into grades, and for each grade a 
different examination must be held, because the duties and qualifications in 
each are different from other grades. Some grades include only one place 
of employment, which is the only position of its kind in the service. Some 
grades include many places in different departments. For instance, there 
is only one Director of the State Geological Survey, but there are many 
Department Stenographers, Rank III, in the State service. Though in differ¬ 
ent departments and handling different subjects, these stenographers do 
substantially the same work, viz: taking and transcribing notes. So the 
same examination serves to test the fitness of all applicants for employ¬ 
ment in this grade in all the departments. 


CHANCE FOR PROMOTION. 

Where the work done in one grade tends to fit the occupant to fill the 
next higher position, paying a higher salary, these positions are put in the 
same class, being assigned different ranks. When examinations for the 
higher positions are held, they are open only to persons already in the 
service in other grades of the same class, in the same or the next lower 
rank, unless circumstances make it appear that the number of candidates 
would be very small. When such a state exists, the examination may be 
thrown open to the general public. 

All the grades in the service are listed in alphabetical order in the 
classification booklet printed by the commission. Each grade has a title 



6 


which indicates its duties, and in the alphabetical list under each title is 
given the maximum and minimum pay, residence and age restrictions, 
duties and examination requirements of that grade. There is also a refer¬ 
ence indicating whether that grade is included in a promotional class, so 
the applicant may know the chances of promotion from that grade. All 
the promotional classes are listed in another part of the booklet, and the 
respective ranks of all the different grades included in them are shown. 
Each promotion class is a ladder, each rank is a rung, up which the able 
and ambitious public servant may climb, step by step. 


BEST MAN WINS EMPLOYMENT. 

Persons who take an examination for employment in a certain grade 
must compete against each other. The law requires the commission to 
devise an examination which will show who among all the applicants is 
the best fitted to fill the position sought, who next, and so on. This is 
accomplished by marking written papers and assigning marks in the oral 
or practical tests, then averaging the marks of each applicant to get his 
final rank. In order to pass, the final average must be 70 or over. A list 
( is made up of those over 70, with the names in order of the final average— 
the high man first, and so on. This is the eligible list. When a vacancy 
occurs in a place classified as being in that grade, the law says the com¬ 
mission must certify the highest person on the list who will accept the 
place and the appointing officer must give him the job. 


A FALLACY EXPLODED. 

The old idea that only a boy just out of school or college can pass a 
civil service test, finds no justification in the examinations given by the 
State Commission. There is always a mark for experience, which does not 
mean that an applicant for prison guard, for example, must have had 
experience as a prison guard, but that he must tell what work he has done 
for years past—just what has been his experience with life—and a mark is 
given him according to the judgment of the examiner as to how that 
experience fits him to be a guard, or to fill any other place, as the case 
may be. The examiners know and always give credit for the ripening effect 
of work and age. 

In the written and oral examinations, the questions relate strictly to 
the work to be performed. For most skilled labor positions the examina¬ 
tions are practical tests with nothing to be written except a statement of 
training and experience. 


HOW TO MAKE APPLICATION. 

If you wish to work for the State write to the State Civil Service Com¬ 
mission, Springfield, Ill., asking for an application blank and information 
regarding examinations. If you have not already a definite position in 
mind, tell the nature of your training and experience. Information will be 
sent you as to positions which you might be qualified to fill and an applica¬ 
tion blank will be furnished you. l:ou will be notified when your examina¬ 
tion is called. 

This application should be sent at once to the Springfield office, properly 
and completely filled out. It should be there not less than 10 days before 
the date set for your examination. It will be returned if it is not made 
out in proper form. When received, it is placed with the applications of 
others who are waiting for the same examination. 

WHERE EXAMINATIONS ARE HELD. 

As soon as a definite date is set for a test, arrangements are made for 
holding the examination at each of the State hospitals for the insane at 
Anna, Jacksonville, Peoria (located at the suburb of South Bartonville), 


7 


Kankakee, Elgin, Watertown and Chicago (located in suburb of Dunning 
at west end of Irving Park Boulevard car line), and at other cities con¬ 
veniently located, usually Chicago, Springfield, Lincoln, Marion, Mt. Vernon, 
Murphysboro, Urbana and Quincy. In addition to these, tests are fre¬ 
quently held at Golconda, Harrisburg and Fairfield. 

Examinations are almost invariably held on the first Saturday of each 
month and the first advertisements usually go out about five weeks before 
that time. Notices are sent to all post-offices at county seats and in most 
cities of 1,000 people or more, to practically all the dailies, and to many of 
the weekly papers of the State, to all county superintendents of schools, 
county clerks, and members of the Legislature. Separate mailing lists are 
also kept of all persons who have notified the commission that they are 
interested in any particular position and wish to be informed when a test 
is called for that place. 

A few days before the examination date, a card of admission is sent to 
each applicant, telling where and when to appear. The persons in charge 
at each place have orders to admit no one who has not his card of admission. 


ATTENDANTS, DOMESTICS AND LABORERS. 


In addition to the examinations held on the first Saturday of every 
month, tests for attendants, domestics and laborers at the State hospitals 
and charitable institutions are held at each of these institutions at 9 a. m. 
every Saturday. An application may be filled out when you report to take 
such an examination. These examinations are conducted at: 


Anna State Hospital, Anna. 

Chicago State Hospital, Dunning. 

Elgin State Hospital, Elgin. 

Jacksonville State Hospital, Jacksonville. 

Kankakee State Hospital, Kankakee. 

Peoria State Hospital, South Bartonville. 

Watertown State Hospital, Watertown. 

Chester State Hospital, Menard. 

School for the Blind, Jacksonville. 

Industrial Home for the Blind, 1900 Marshall Boulevard, Chicago. 
School for the Deaf, Jacksonville. 

Eye and Ear Infirmary, 904 West Adams Street, Chicago. 

State School and Colony, Lincoln. 

School for Boys, St. Charles. 

Training School for Girls, Geneva. 

Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Home, Quincy. 

Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, Normal. 

Soldiers’ Widows’ Home, Wilmington. 

Similarly, applicants for attendant, domestic, or laborer at any of the 
State charitable institutions may be examined free of charge at any time 
by the following physicians who have been appointed representatives of 
the State Civil Service Commission: 


Dr. Chas. F. Brian, Bellmont. 

Dr. Charles D. Nobles, Buncombe. 
Dr. B. F. Crain, Carterville. 

Dr. W. P. Sutherland, Creal Springs. 
Dr. F. S. Smith, Cypress. 

Dr. Joseph M. Dent, Eddyville. 

Dr. H. L. Rodgers, Enfield. 

Dr. Ezra Phillips, Ewing. 

Dr. Lewis S. Barger, Golconda. 

Dr. Isaac N. Graves, Goreville. 

Dr. F. M. Sanders, Herrin. 

Dr. A. D. Harper, Ina. 

Dr. J. J. Lence, Jonesboro. 

Dr. Chas. E. Tucker, Joppa. 

Dr. Thos. E. McCall, Vienna. 

Dr. J. T. Joiner, Karbers’ Ridge. 


Dr. E. C. Alvis, Kell. 

Dr. R. L. Eddington, Lacon. 

Dr. Isaac C. Walker, Marion. 

Dr. Geo. W. Walbright, Metropolis. 
Dr. E. M. Glasscock, Mill Shoals. 
Dr. R. R. Smith, Mt. Vernon. 

Dr. G. F. Dougherty, Neoga. 

Dr. H. D. LaRue, New Burnside. 
Dr. J. L. Harrell, Norris City. 

Dr. Frank Johnson, Omaha. 

Dr. G. B. M. Hill, Paris. 

Dr. L. A. Coley, Pittsfield. 

Dr. Wm. A. Sim, Rosebud. 

Dr. W. J. J. Paris, Rosiclare. 

Dr. A. S. Artin, Springerton. 

Dr. James E. Dixon, Sims. 


8 


ABOUT AGE LIMITS, ETC. 

Ordinarily the minimum age limit for men is 21 years, and for women 
18. Such limits are always announced before the examination. 

Male hospital attendants must be 21 years of age, not less than 5 feet 
4 inches high and of not less than 135 pounds weight. 

Female attendants and domestics must be 18 years of age, not less 
than 5 feet high and 115 pounds weight. 

Laborers must be over 19 years with the weight and height the same 
as for attendants. 

Penitentiary guards must be between 25 and 55 years of age, weigh at / 
least 150 pounds and be not less than 5 feet 7 inches tall. 

Other limitations are fixed when thought necessary and the candidate 
is furnished complete information on all these points. 

BE SURE TO PREPARE YOURSELF. 

It will help you if you will make some preparation for the examination 
beforehand. The hours spent in preparing for the test and the method you 
use in preparing are extremely important. 

First get a broad view of the duties and responsibilities of the position 
you want. Learn its relation to the other positions in the same department 
and to the service at large. Then be sure that you know thoroughly the 
details of the position itself. 

An examination is usually divided into two general parts, which are 
(a) questions bn education and experience, (b) questions relating strictly 
to the work of the position sought, either oral or written or both. Some¬ 
times a physical test is added. Practical tests are frequently used. 

You can save a great amount of time and better your chances of success 
if you take the right way to prepare for the examination. 

HOW TO STATE EXPERIENCE. 

Write out a statement covering in detail your education and the 
positions you have filled since you left school. Be sure to say how far you 
went in school, indicating the courses of study taken. Tell the kind of 
work done in each position, who your employer was, his present address if 
possible, and the salary you received. Now include any special studies or 
experiences you have gone through which would particularly fit you for the 
position sought. 

After writing this statement, go over it, boiling it down, cutting out 
unimportant matters, emphasizing valuable points, so that everything is 
given in the least possible number of words, but yet none of the strength 
of statement is lost. Have this practically memorized, so that very little 
time need be spent on it at the examination and attention can be given 
to the other sets of questions, for which you have not been able to prepare 
so easily. 


STUDY DUTIES OF POSITION. 

The special subjects to be taken up are ordinarily outlined in the 
advertising matter regarding the examination. If the applicant is at all 
fitted by training or experience, or both, for the position, he will know its 
important duties. He will then prepare himself on the things which he 
deems of fundamental importance, the stenographer practicing for speed, 
the clerk on arithmetic and penmanship, the electrician on the underwriter’s 
standards, and so on. 

It is far better to have a thorough knowledge of the underlying princ¬ 
iples than to have a smattering of knowledge scattered here and there 
among all the various phases of the work that comes with each position. 
The examiner will always assume that if the applicant has the ground 
work, it will be easy enough for him to learn the details of the particular 
position to which he may be assigned. 


9 


The nature of the general questions will depend on the position for 
which the examination is given. Think over the duties of the place. It 
will not be hard to guess closely as to those questions. The stenographer 
will be asked regarding spelling and English grammar, the clerk on ordi¬ 
nary office methods and letter writing. 


MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME. 

The last important point in preparing for an examination must be 
observed just before the writing of the answers to the questions. Decide in 
your own mind the relative values of the different sets of questions. In 
accordance with their importance, assign to each the number of hours or 
minutes which are to be used in answering the questions. 

Even a slight deviation from the schedule will probably result in 
decreased efficiency as far as the whole examination is concerned. In the 
same way take each set of questions as it is given out. Pick out the import¬ 
ant questions and make sure that sufficient time is allotted to them so that 
valuable minutes will not be given to minor matters. 


EXPERTS MAKE UP QUESTIONS. 

The Civil Service Commission itself very seldom makes up the ques¬ 
tions used in an examination. It secures men who are experts in each 
particular line and who can have no personal interest in the results of 
the test. For instance, an expert civil engineer working for the United 
States Government handles the examinations for some of the positions 
under the State Highway Commission, making up the questions and grading 
the papers afterward. A board made up of some of the best known 
physicians and surgeons passes on the qualifications of applicants for posi¬ 
tions in the medical service. The judgment of these men, when taken in 
connection with information secured from former employers, decides the 
standing of the applicant. 

NAMES OF CANDIDATES SEALED UP. 

So that the examiner cannot know whose papers he is grading, a num¬ 
ber is assigned to each candidate. He writes his name on a sheet furnished 
for that purpose and seals it in an envelope. On the envelope is a number 
which he puts on each sheet of examination papers. The papers are sent 
to the examiner for grading. He does not know whose paper he is marking. 
After he sends the final averages back to the commission, the envelopes are 
opened and the names are placed opposite the grades. 

References are looked up on those who made a passing grade of 70 per 
cent or more. The names of the successful ones are placed on an eligible 
list and each candidate is notified of his standing. Vacancies are then 
filled by the appointment of persons in the order of their standing on the 
list. 

Very frequently two and sometimes three months elapse between the 
examination and the announcing of the eligible list. This occurs because 
many hundred letters are sent to former employers of applicants and to 
other references given by them, and these people frequently neglect to 
answer the commission’s letters thus delaying matters badly. 


OPENINGS IN THE STATE SERVICE. 

About 5,000 State positions are now filled by civil service examinations 
and a large proportion receive salaries ranging from $100 to $300 per month. 
There are places for workers with all degrees of preparation and experience. 

College graduates find that such positions as Corporation Assistant, Road 
Engineer, Secretary of the Rivers and Lakes Commission, Physician-general, 
Supervisor of High Schools, and Assistant State Veterinarian call for tech¬ 
nical training and offer a commensurate reward. 



10 


Graduates of good high schools are eligible for such positions as Assist¬ 
ant Examiner, House Officer, Inspector of Pharmacies, Bookkeeper, Deputy 
Fire Marshal, and Securities Clerk. 

Those without high school training- are able to fill positions such as 
Messenger, Filing Clerk, Department Clerk, Reimbursing Investigator, Parole 
Agent, Deputy Game Warden, Grain Sampler, Clerk, Guard, and Proof 
Reader. 

In examinations for skilled laborers, such as Stationary Engineer, 
Plumber, Carpenter, Painter, and Assistant Electrician, knowledge of the 
trade is worth far more than book learning. Such positions as Elevator 
Conductor, Watchman, Janitor, Attendant, Laborer, and Domestic, are filled 
largely by those who have little school training or experience in a trade. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN. 

The commission recognizes the part played by women in the modern 
industrial world and consistently admits them to examinations. In recent 
months an increasing number of women have entered the examinations for 
the higher salaried positions. 

Women almost monopolize the nursing service and stenographic posi¬ 
tions. They act as investigators of private employment agencies, book¬ 
keepers in the various State institutions and departments, physicians in 
the hospitals for the insane, chemists for the Food Commission, librarians, 
teachers and principals of schools and hundreds of other clerical positions 
are open to women. 


THE STATE’S BIG INSTITUTIONS. 

There are 23 great State institutions in Illinois. Twenty of them are 
known as charitable institutions. Two of them are prisons, one of them a 
reformatory. They employ more than 3,000 persons who are under civil 
service; that is, they secure their positions on competitive examinations 
and hold them during good behaviour and efficient service. 

In order to give its employees every opportunity to become serviceable 
and useful not only to the State but to themselves, the State affords means 
for education without interfering with earning capacity. 


THEIR LOCATIONS AND PURPOSES. 

These institutions are scattered over the State so that no city or town 
is located a great distance from one of them. The following is a list of 
the cities where institutions are located: 

Watertown; State Hospital for Insane with 1,600 patients and 300 
employees. (Near Rock Island and Moline.) 

Chicago; State Hospital for Insane with 2,600 patients and 450 em¬ 
ployees. 

Chicago; Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary with 40,000 cases 
a year of eye, ear, throat and nose diseases, all treated free. 

Chicago; Industrial Home for the Blind. 

Elgin; State Hospital for Insane with 1,600 patients and 300 employees. 

Kankakee; State Hospital for Insane with 3,000 patients and 600 em¬ 
ployees. 

Jacksonville; State Hospital for Insane with 1,600 patients and 300 
employees. 

Peoria; State Hospital for Insane with 2,200 patients and 400 employees. 

Anna; State Hospital for Insane with 1,500 patients and 300 employees. 

Chester; State Hospital for Criminal Insane, with 250 patients and 75 
employees. 

Lincoln; State School and Colony with 1,500 inmates and 300 employees 

Normal; Soldiers’. Orphans’ Home with 300 children and 75 employees! 

Wilmington; Soldiers' Widows’ Home with 80 inmates and 20 employees 

Geneva; State Training School for Girls with 500 girls and 100 
employees. 


11 


St. Charles; State School for Boys with 550 boys and 100 employees. 
Jacksonville; State School for the Blind with 200 pupils and 50 
employees. 

Jacksonville; State School for the Deaf with 500 pupils and 150 
employees. 

Quincy; Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home with 1,500 inmates and 100 
employees. 

Alton; State Hospital for Insane, capacity 1,500; not yet ready to 
receive patients. 

Dixon; State Colony for Epileptics; not yet built. 

Joliet; State Penitentiary with 1,500 prisoners and 120 employees. 
Chester; State Penitentiary with 1,500 prisoners and 107 employees. 
Pontiac; State Reformatory with 700 boys and 106 employees. 

The following State departments have employees under civil service: 
Board of Administration, Springfield. 

Board of Agriculture, Springfield. 

Inspector of Apiaries, Putnam. 

Board of Arbitration, Springfield. 

Examiners of Architects, Chicago, 178 West Jackson Boulevard. 
Attorney-General, Springfield, and 934 Otis Building, Chicago. 

Auditor of Public Accounts, Springfield, and 808 Otis Building, Chicago. 
Barbers’ Examiners, 302 Ft. Dearborn Building, Chicago. 

Biological Laboratory, Springfield. 

Canal Commission, Illinois and Michigan, Lockport. 

Charities Commission, Springfield. 

Civil Service Commission, Springfield, and 1542 Transportation Building, 
Chicago. 

Dental Examiners, Springfield. 

Eastern Normal School, Charleston. 

Employment Agencies, Licensed, 732 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 
Entomologist, State, Urbana. 

Executive Department, Springfield. 

Factory Inspection, 1543, 608 South Dearborn Street, Chicago. 

Farmers’ Institute, Springfield. 

Fire Marshal, Springfield. 

Food Commissioner, 1627 Manhattan Building, Chicago. 

Fort Massac, Metropolis. 

Free Employment Office, 732 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Free Employment Office, 826 North Clark Street, Chicago. 

Free Employment Office, 560 West Randolph Street, Chicago. 

Free Employment Office, 512 South Adams Street, Peoria. 

Free Employment Office, 107 Kishwaukee Street, Rockford. 

Free Employment Office, 307*4 South Sixth Street, Springfield. 

Free Employment Office, Main Street and Division Avenue, East St. 
Louis. 

Game and Fish Conservation Commission, Springfield. 

Geological Survey, Urbana. 

Grain Inspection, 708 Insurance Exchange, Chicago. 

Grain Inspection, East St. Louis. 

Health, Board of, Springfield. 

Highway Commission, Springfield. 

Historical Library, Springfield. 

Industrial Board, City Hall Square Building, Chicago. 

Insurance Department, Springfield. 

Labor Statistics, Bureau of, Springfield. 

Laboratory of Natural History, Urbana. 

Library Extension Commission, Springfield. 

Library, State, Springfield. 

Lieutenant Governor, Springfield. 

Lincoln Homestead, Springfield. 

Lincoln Monument, Springfield. 

Live Stock Commission, Springfield. 

Mine Rescue Commission, (head office), Springfield. 

Mine Rescue Station, Benton. 



12 


Mine Rescue Station, LaSalle. 

Mining Board, Springfield. 

Natural History Museum, Springfield. 

Normal University, Normal. 

Northern Normal School, DeKalb. 

Nurses, Examiners of Registered, Springfield. 

Pardons, Board of, Springfield. 

Park Commission, Ottawa. 

Pharmacy, Board of, Springfield. 

Printer Expert, Springfield. 

Prison Industries, Board of, Springfield. 

Public Instruction, Superintendent of, Springfield. 

Rivers and Lakes Commission, 1534, 608 South Dearborn Street. Chicago. 
Secretary of State, Springfield. 

Secretary of State; Chauffeur Examiners, 336, 608 South Dearborn 
Street, Chicago. 

Southern Normal School, Carbondale. 

Stallion Registration, Board of, Springfield. 

Supreme Court, Springfield. 

Treasurer, State, Springfield. 

University of Illinois, Urbana. 

Utilities Commission, Public, Springfield. 

Western Normal School, Macomb. 

In the following pages, which will describe in general the methods fol¬ 
lowed in examinations, will be found many typical questions selected from 
examinations which the commission has given. Do not make the mistake of 
assuming that these identical questions will be used again. Read them, 
rather, as a means of learning the probable scope of coming examinations and 
as a basis for study. 


CHAPTER II 


TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE. 

Sometimes one set of questions is used to cover “Training and Experi¬ 
ence,” sometimes two. In either case, the purpose is the same, to learn 
how well your education and the work you have done previous to the 
examination fit you to take up the duties of the position sought. 

By referring to Chapter I, page 8, of this Manual, you will find sug¬ 
gestions on preparing for this portion of the examination. Careful observ¬ 
ance of what is said there will prove a big help. Typical questions follow: 

DEPARTMENT CLERK, RANK III. 

Training .— (Fill in all blanks necessary to show your school training.) 
State your age. 

I completed the.grade in common school at (city). 

in (year) . 

I entered High School or Academy at (city) . in (year) 

. and completed . years’ work. I graduated in 

(year). 

I entered. Commercial School (city and state) 

. in (year) .and completed . 

months’ work in . course. I graduated in (year) . 

I enrolled in the . Correspondence School 

(city) . (state) . in (year) . 

taking a course in . I graduated in (year). 

Mention any additional studies or work (in or out of school) that 
have fitted you for the position of Department Clerk. 

Experience .— (Candidate will be graded from information given in 
the following form): 

1. I was employed chiefly as . by ... 

of..during the years from 1903 to 1908. 

(address) 

2 . 

Employees 

Em- Employer’s Posi- super- Date 

Date ployer. address. tion held. vised. resigned. Salary. 

1908 . 

1909 . 

1910 .*.. 

1911 . 

1912 .r. 

1913 . 

1914 . 

3. What has been the extent of your experience: 

(a) As correspondent .;. 

(b) As bookkeeper . 

(c) Operating a typewriter . 

(d) Operating an adding machine. 

(e) Operating a comptometer . 

(f) Filing correspondence . 

4. Name any other experience that would tend to fit you for the position of 

department clerk. 

5. Were you ever discharged from a position? If so, why? 






































I 


14 


STATIONARY ENGINEER. 

Training and Experience .— (1) Give your age, height and weight, and 
tell whether you are married. (2) Where are you now employed and in what 
capacity? What is your present salary? (3) State as nearly as possible all 
positions you have held since you were 21 years old, naming the firms or 
employers for whom you have worked, the length of time in each place and 
the position occupied. (4) Have you ever been discharged from any posi¬ 
tion? If so, why? (5) What classes of engines have you handled? State 
makes, sizes, simple, compound, or compound condensing; also the classes of 
work the engines were doing. (6) What experience have you had with elec¬ 
trical machinery and equipment? State fully. (7) What experience have 
you had with refrigerating machinery? (8) What experience have you had 
with heating and ventilating apparatus? (9) What experience have you had 
as fireman? (10) What experience have you had as machinist? (11) Do 
you understand that failure to notify the State Civil Service Commission of 
changes in your address will be sufficient reason for dropping your name 
from an eligible list? 

MINE RESCUE ASSISTANT. 

Training and Experience .— (1) What is your age, height, and weight? 
(2) How far did you go in school? (3) State all the positions about a mine 
that you have filled and the approximate amount of time you held each posi¬ 
tion. (4) Give the names and addresses of your employers for the past five 
years and the positions you held under ehch. (5) (In answering the follow¬ 
ing questions, be sure to name the State or Government that issued the cer¬ 
tificate; give its date as near as you can; tell where, when, and for how 
long you received instruction in each case.) (a) Have you a certificate of 
proficiency in first aid training? (b) In mine rescue training? (c) In 
helmet work? (d) What other State or Government certificates have you 
received? (6) What experience have you had in rendering first aid to the 
injured? (7) What experience have you had in entering and exploring a 
mine after an accident? (8) Do you understand that failure to inform the 
commission of a change in your address will be sufficient reason for dropping 
your name from any eligible register? 


CHAPTER III 


CLERICAL POSITIONS. 

» 

Practically every department and institution contains some clerical 
position. Large numbers of applicants appear at each examination and 
consequently it usually takes longer to grade all the papers and announce 
the results than in the case of other tests. 

Ordinarily in examinations for this kind of position, the training and 
experience of the applicant is given a weight of 3 points out of 10. Some¬ 
times, as in the case of the department bookkeeper examination, a weight 
of 4 is given because the number of well qualified applicants is large and 
the openings are usually infrequent. Following the part relating to train¬ 
ing and experience are sets of questions, each dealing with some one phase 
of the duties of the position or of the qualifications needed in a person 
fitted to fill the place. For instance, a few general educational questions 
are included in the filing clerk examination as it is felt that here the fund 
of general information possessed by the candidate is valuable in determin¬ 
ing his standing among all the applicants. Knowledge of arithmetic is 
essential to a bookkeeper just as familiarity with the usual methods of 
handling correspondence is important to a department clerk. The weights 
assigned these parts of the examination seldom run above 3 points out of 
a total of 10. Penmanship is frequently graded from the answers to some 
one set of questions, usually from those on training and experience. 

Opportunities for promotion .—An idea of the opportunities for promo¬ 
tion in clerical positions may be obtained from the classification. Most of 
these positions are included in Promotion Classes A (Department Office 
Service) and B (Institution Office Service). The salaries in the higher 
ranks reach $200 per month without maintenance and $140 per month 
with maintenance. 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Following are the subjects and weights which have been used in four 
recent typical examinations, with the questions put to the candidates. The 
questions on training and experience are not shown as they are outlined 
in Chapter II. 

DEPARTMENT CLERK, RANK III. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; handling correspond¬ 
ence, 2; duties, 3; statistics and arithmetic, 2. 

Handling correspondence. —1. What precautions would you take in order 
to safeguard your own as well as the time of the stenographic force when 
starting to answer several inquiries? 2. Make up a set of rules to follow 
while writing or dictating a business letter. 3. Write a letter of complaint 
to an express company in regard to a package from Chicago two weeks 
over-due in Springfield. 4. Assume that you are a clerk in the office of the 
Highway Commission and that you find it necessary to answer a letter 
which complains of the delay of payment for supplies purchased by that 
commission. Assume that a voucher has already passed out of your office 
authorizing payment. State how you would investigate the matter. Write 
a complete letter showing your reply to the complainant. 5.. Name one 
system of filing correspondence and give any advantages that it has over 
other systems. 





16 


Duties. —1. Explain briefly the following terms: budget, invoice, con¬ 
signee, license, voucher, requisition, inventory, warrant, contingent fund, 
depreciation. 2. Arrange the following list of trades into allied groups, as 
“Contracting and Building,” “Manufacturing,” “Railroading,” etc. Use not 
more than eight groups and name each group what you wish. You will be 
marked on your ingenuity in classification. Arrange the trades in alpha¬ 
betical order under each heading that you choose. This is to test your 
ability in preparing a tabulated report. Farm hand, bricklayers, stone 
masons, paint makers, glass workers, bookkeepers, gardeners, carpenters, 
sugar beet workers, hod carriers, accountants, custom tailors, domestics, 
chambermaids, harness and saddle makers, blacksmiths, printers, electricians, 
brakemen, shoe workers, machinists, track and tie layers, brewers, cooks, 
pantry and linen girls, stenographers, boilermakers, metal polishers, tannery 
workers, machine hands, trunk makers, housekeepers, laundrymen. 3. Name 
three modern office appliances which may be driven by electricity. 4. Cor¬ 
rect all errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization, in the 
following: Do not add or subtract from article.—There are a good deel of 
Speckulation on the part of the Public as to the dutys of a reimbursing 
investigator. Few peeple have come into acktual contact with him. Yet 
many have hear something of the work he have been doing for the State.— 
During the first year of there operations, their were only 2 investigators 
and they done a splendid work altho hampered with a small appropriation 
for clerical help and travelling expenses: they recoevered over $200,000.00 
for the state.—Now their are eight investigators including one at each 
Insane Hospital. The compulsary support of inmates aplies only to the 
insane but their seems to be no good reason why the law should not also 
be amended so as to aply to the deaf and blind as well as to the epilepticks 
and the feeble minded. Perhaps this shall happen when the peeple shall 
wake up to how much there tax burdens are being lightened by the work 
of our reimbursing investigators. 

Statistics and Arithmetic. —1. (a) The U. S. Census returns give the 
population of Illinois in 1900 as 4,821,550, and in 1910 as 5,638,591. Use these 
figures to estimate the population of Illinois for the year 1906. (b) With 

the same rate of increase as occurred from 1900 to 1910, estimate the popu¬ 
lation for the year 1914. 2. A manufacturer sells to a wholesaler at 20 per 
cent gain; the wholesaler to the retailer at 25 per cent gain, and the retailer 
to the consumer at 60 per cent gain. Find the cost to the manufacturer of 
an article for which the consumer pays $14.40. 3. Suppose you are a depart¬ 
ment clerk and are asked to make out a pay-roll for a department which 
has employed the following persons during the month of September, 1914: 
Martin Madison, secretary (full month) $200. John Smith, bookkeeper, 
(full month) $1,000 per annum. Fred Clark, department clerk, $95 a 
month. James Brown, inspector, $4 per day, exclusive of Sundays. Helen 
Jones, stenographer, from September 1 to September 12, inclusive, $85 a 
month. Alice Larsen, began September 14, and worked balance of month 
at $75 a month. Mary Daniels, filing clerk, full time, $75 a month. Arthur 
Jackson, messenger, (off on leave of absence without pay, two days Sep¬ 
tember 21 and 22) at $70 a month. 

FILING CLERK. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; report, 2; qualifica¬ 
tions and duties, 3; educational, 2; physical examination. 

Report. —Describe in not less than 300 words one system of filing and 
referring to correspondence in a large office. In this description give full 
and complete details, tell the advantages and disadvantages of the system 
and show how the permanent files may be kept up to date and free from 
matter of only temporary value. 

Qiialiflcations and duties. —1 . What do you consider the most important 
qualifications in a filing clerk? 2. Name two firms that manufacture sup¬ 
plies such as are used in filing, and tell briefly the line of supplies furnished 
by each. 3. What do you consider the best method of securing copies of 
outgoing letters? Give all its advantages you know. 4. What is cross 
indexing? Illustrate. 5. Describe a method of handling copies of letters 
containing matter which must be followed up at a later date, so that the 


17 


files will be kept fully up to date and the matter referred to will be sure 
to be taken up at the proper time. 6. What are the advantages and dis¬ 
advantages of the alphabetical system of filing? 7. What are the advantages 
and disadvantages of the numerical system of filing? 8. Name at least 
three labor and time saving devices used in offices, and give the use of 
each. 9. Make an exact copy of the following (you will be marked on 
accuracy and penmanship): Section 1. (Statute, Section 6.) Who May 
Apply—All applicants for offices or places in said classified service, except 
those mentioned in section 11 hereof, shall be subject to examination, which 
shall be public, competitive, and free to all citizens of the State of Illinois 
who may be lawfully appointed to any office or place in the service of the 
State of Illinois with limitations specified in the rules of the commission as 
to residence, age, sex, health, habits, moral character, and qualifications to 
perform the duties of the office or place to be filled. 

Educational. —1. A note for $760, dated May 24, 1914, drew 7 per cent 
interest. What amount was due July 24, 1914? 2. Explain briefly two of 

the following: (a) The commission form of government, (b) The initia¬ 
tive and referendum, (c) City manager. 3. Locate each of the following: 
(a) Corn belt, (b) Cotton belt, (c) Wheat belt. 4 and 5. Arrange the 
following in exact alphabetical order as they should appear in the files or 
in an index: Ottawa Cold Storage Co.; R. V. Manufacturing Co.; Springfield 
Hay Tool Co.; Ingram-Day Lumber Co.; Anthony Co-Operative Creamer 
Assn.; Ingram Lumber Co.; East St. Louis Butter Co.; DeForest Opera 
House Co.; Southern Historical Assn.; Moody-Baker-Elliott Co.; R. B. of 
A. Building Assn.; Moodt Transfer Co.; Southwest Kissel Kar Branch; 
O. H. Ingram Co.; Golden Gate Mining Co.; Northeast Realty Co.; S. Free¬ 
man & Sons Mfg. Co.; Chicago & Eastern Ill. R. R.; Illinois Hardware Mfg. 
Co.; Anthony Cooperage Co.; Illinois Ice Cream Assn.; W. J. Moore Co.; 
Rock River Improvement Co.; The Illinois Coal Co.; Illinois Realty Assn.; 
Northern Agricultural Company; Illinois Central Railroad Co.; Illinois Trac¬ 
tion Co.; John Deere Co.; Illinois Hotel Assn.; A. A. Lloyd and Son; 
Calumet & Hecla. 

CHIEF CLERK. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; accounting and book¬ 
keeping, 2; laws and rules governing State institutions and departments, 2; 
duties, 3. 

Accounting and hookkeeping. —1. What is the basic principle of book¬ 
keeping? 2. Differentiate between double and single entry bookkeeping. 
3. State what books you would require for properly keeping the accounts 
of a large charitable institution, giving the principal uses of each. 4. 
Explain the workings of the voucher system of bookkeeping and give its 
chief advantages. 5. What is another person’s note in your favor called? 
6. If the credit side of merchandise account after the inventory had been 
entered were smaller, would it show a gain or loss? 7. What system of 
accounting would you install in a department where salaries are appro¬ 
priated in fixed amounts and a lump sum allowed for all other expenses? 
(Illustration may supplement answer.) 8. What method would you use 
in accounting for petty cash fund? 9. From what sources would entries 
generally originate that are contained in an “Accounts-Receivable” ledger? 
10. Name the sources from which the State secures its revenues and through 
what process they come. 

Daws and rules governing State institutions and departments. —1. (a) 
What purpose is the charities organization of the State designed to accom¬ 
plish? (b) Enumerate the boards, commissions, and institutions created 
by law to accomplish this purpose. 2. (a) What powers and duties are by 
law vested in the Board of Administration? (b) Over what institutions 
and departments does it have control? 3. Mention the purpose and scope 
of the law governing appointments of employees in the State institutions 
and departments. 4. Outline the relation of the Board of Prison Industries 
to other State departments and institutions. 5. What are the duties out¬ 
lined in the law governing the relations of the Secretary of State with the 


\ 


—2 C S 


Governor? 6. List the State departments created by the Constitution and 
briefly outline the duties of each. 7. To what State departments are police 
powers given? 8. (a) Define “Right of Eminent Domain.” (b) What 
State department is vested with such rights? 

Duties. —1. Outline a system of organization of a complete clerical force 
necessary to handle effectively the work of the Illinois Utilities Commission 
requiring the services of 25 persons at a combined annual salary of $43,600, 
designating the principal duties of each group of employees with the annual 
salary allotted to each. 2. (a) Devise a plan for following up correspond¬ 
ence at the same time keeping files up to date, (b) Devise a plan for 
avoiding duplicate payments of accounts from petty cash fund. 3. (a) As 
chief clerk of an institution having approximately 500 employees, some paid 
on monthly basis, some weekly, and others on a daily basis, what office 
records would be necessary in order to make up your monthly pay-roll? 

(b) Would you make any or all such payments by cash or check? Why? 
4. By what process would you raise the standard of efficiency of 10 stenog¬ 
raphers working under your direct supervision? 5. What method would 
you adopt in keeping account of office supplies and stationery required and 
used by a large department? 6. What procedure would you adopt in com¬ 
plying with rules of the Board of Administration in compiling an institu¬ 
tion’s, (a) monthly estimates of supplies? (b) quarterly financial report? 

(c) biennial financial report? 7. Trace a demand for food supplies from 
its inception to receipt in payment of same. 

DEPARTMENT BOOKKEEPER. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 4; arithmetic, 2; office 
methods, 1; bookkeeping, 3. 

Arithmetic. —1. A note for $675 is dated January 16, 1913. What amount 
is now due, money being worth 7 per cent? 2. The sales of a dry goods 
house for one week were as follows: Monday, domestics, $540.10; notions, 
$325.85; woolens, $864.98; dress goods, $325.78. Tuesday, domestics, $995.85; 
notions, $419.62; woolens, $919.10; dress goods, $146.84. Wednesday, domes¬ 
tics, $975.89; notions, $853.64; woolens, $1,659.89; dress goods, $1,259.89. 
Thursday, domestics, $856.74; notions, $459.13; woolens, $756.85; dress goods, 
$588.74. Friday, domestics, $882.47; notions, $817.39; woolens, $1,249.86; 
dress goods, $1,560.84. Saturday, domestics, $1,529.84; notions, $915.62; 
woolens, $958.22; dress goods, $1,079.54. Arrange these facts in tabular 
form so as to show: (a) The total sales for each department, (b) the total 
daily sales, and (c) the total sales for the week. 3. Compute and make out 
the following bill in form to present: J. A. Lake bought of Ganty & Frand- 
son, wholesale grocers in Chicago, July 2, 1914, 328 pounds of sugar at $4.18 
per 100 pounds; 2 boxes of herring at 75 cents per box; 7 gross of candles 
at 5 cents a dozen; 200 oranges, at 10 cents a dozen; 3 tubs of butter, each 
containing 28% pounds, at 35 cents a pound. A special discount of 10 per 
cent is allowed, with 5 per cent off for cash. 4. David Evans handed the 
following invoice to his bookkeeper, stating that he wished to make 15 
per cent profit, and that he would pay cash. Complete the invoice and give 
the figure at which each chair should be marked. Chicago, June 18, 1914. 
Terms 2/10. David Evans, Joliet, Ill., bought of Dennet & Pritz, 40 No. 376 
A. chairs at $7.75. Less special discount 10 per cent. Freight prepaid, 
$10.45. 5. Which is the cheaper, and how much, on a bill of $675, a discount 
series of 25 per cent, 20 per cent, and 2 per cent, or a discount series of 30 
per cent, 10 per cent, and 2 per cent. 6. A boat load of 8,400 bushels of 
wheat, worth 90 cents per bushel, is insured for three-fourths of its value 
at 1% per cent premium. In case of total destruction of the wheat, what 
is the owner’s loss? 

Office methods—1. How would you avoid making duplicate payments 
from the petty cash fund? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages 
of making payments by check? 3. Describe in detail (with diagrams or 
drawings if you desire) a good system of keeping account of office supplies 
received and distributed. 4. Describe three ways of endorsing a check and 
explain the force of each. 5. Describe a plan for following up correspond¬ 
ence, at the same time keeping the files up to date. 6. Describe in detail 


19 


one method of filing letters and correspondence, and give its advantages and 
disadvantages. 

Bookkeeping. —1. State in detail what you would do on taking a position 
as department bookkeeper. 2. Sketch a suitable form for a cash book, pro¬ 
viding for a sectionalized ledger. 3. State what you understand by these 
terms: (a) Revenue; (b) Receipts. Wherein do they differ? 4. What do 
you consider the advantages and disadvantages of a card system ledger as 
compared with a loose-leaf system? 5. Explain fully the workings of the 
voucher system of accounting. 6. A, B, and C form a partnership with a 
capital of $72,000. A invests $40,000, B $20,000, and C $12,000. They take 
5 per cent per annum on capital, and divide profits or losses in proportion 
to capital invested. At the end of the year, their trial balance is as fol¬ 
lows: Debits, land $5,000, buildings $20,000; machinery $6,600; investments 
$10,500, good will $20,000, drawing account A $1,520; drawing account B 
$1,200, drawing account C $1,175, cash in bank $3,500, cash in safe $377.47, 
bills receivable $1,790.50, accounts receivable $7,260.22, purchases $37,070, 
salaries and wages $12,500, discounts $125, bad debts $1,125, sundry expenses 
$13,012.57, total $142,755.76; credits, partners’ capital $72,000, bills payable 
$2,600, accounts payable $8,405.76, sales $59,750, total $142,755.76. The value 
of the goods on hand at the end of the year is $24,000. Prepare their 
balance sheet or statement, their profit and loss account, and capital 
accounts. Charge no interest on drawings, allow 2 per cent per annum 
depreciation on buildings, 7^ per cent on machinery, and 6 per cent appre¬ 
ciation on lands. 


20 


CHAPTER IV. 


STENOGRAPHIC POSITIONS. 

Good stenographers are nearly always in demand in State offices. Most 
of the positions carry salaries slightly higher than are usually paid in busi¬ 
ness houses, but the care, neatness, and accuracy demanded in the work of 
the State employee is correspondingly higher. There are various kinds of 
stenographic positions in the different departments. Most of them require 
ability to take dictation at 115 words a minute and pay $75 a month at the 
start. Institution stenographers receive $45 and full maintenance (room, 
board, and washing) at the start and must take dictation at 90 words a min¬ 
ute. The University of Illinois requires that its stenographers be high school 
graduates or have an equivalent training. For a few secretarial positions at 
the University, college graduation and familiarity with French and German 
is required. 

The applicant’s training and experience usually counts 3 points out of 10 
in stenographic examinations. The rest of the examination consists of taking 
and transcribing dictation, copying plain and rough draft, with some inquiry 
into penmanship and spelling. 

Opportunities for promotion. —An idea of the opportunities for promo¬ 
tion in stenographic positions may be obtained from the classification. Most 
of these positions are included in Promotion Classes A (Department Office 
Service), and B (Institution Office Service). The salaries in the higher 
ranks of these classes reach $200 per month without maintenance and $140 
per month with maintenance. 

SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Typical questions, not including training and experience: 

DEPARTMENT STENOGRAPHER, RANK II. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; stenography, 3; type¬ 
writing, 2; arithmetic, y 2 ; spelling, y 2 ; duties, y 2 ; letter writing and pen¬ 
manship, y 2 . 

Dictation (at 90 words a minute): 

Mr. E. B. Howe, President, EanJcakee & Southern Ry., Kankakee, III. 

Dear Sir: This will inform you that your presence is required before 
the State Public Utilities Commission, at its Springfield office at 10 a. m. on 
Friday, February 27, 1914, at which time and place the commission will con¬ 
sider any statements you care to make regarding the need of a direct con¬ 
nection with the Big Four Ry., at Danville, Ill. 

Respectfully yours, 

Miss Rose Stewart, 6320 S. Monroe Avenue, Chicago, III. 

Dear Madam: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of February 20, in 
which you mention that your club wishes information regarding the work of 
this commission. I desire very much to secure cooperation of all such clubs 
in Illinois and have accordingly sent you under separate cover copies of the 
law and rules under which we operate, together with the last report of the 
commission. If such cooperation can be secured throughout Illinois, I believe 
that a great advance toward better government will have been effected. 

Yours respectfully, 



21 


Mr. E. M. Allen, Warden, Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet, III. 

Dear Sir: lour payroll for January has been checked and forwarded to 
the Auditor of Public Accounts. Corrections were found necessary as fol¬ 
lows: Pay for Janies White reduced from $60 to $55 per month, as he has 
not yet finished the 3 months’ probation period. Pay for Henry Lewis dis¬ 
approved entirely, as the permit covering his temporary employment has not 
been renewed. Yours truly, 

Mr. Thomas Rankin, 322 Bridge Building, East St. Louis, III. 

Dear Sir: Your expense account is returned herewith for correction. 
Permit me to call to your attention that the rules of the Governor’s office 
require that a receipt accompany each item of $1 or more except in the case 
of railroad or Pullman fares. It is not permissible to make charges for meals 
at towns where there are State institutions. Please arrange your itinerary 
so as to reduce your mileage to a minimum. 

Yours very truly, 

Plain copy. — (Copy the following exactly, preserving form, punctuation, 
and alignment.) 

The following table gives a brief summary showing appointments made 
during the year 1911 in positions where frequent vacancies are occurring, 
with the addition of all certifications made during the year from reinstate¬ 
ment lists. 


TABLE V. 

APPOINTMENTS. 




Number 

Number 

• * 


of 

of 


Number 

certifi- 

appoint- 

Examination. 

on list. 

cations. 

ments. 

Art teacher. 


2 

2 

Attendant (insane) . 

. 467 

434 

421 

Carpenter . 


5 

3 

Domestic . 


124 

96 

Fireman . 

. 38 

65 

19 

Grain Helper . 

. 56 

0 

0 

Laborer . 


91 

44 

Painter. 


13 

0 

Seamstress . 

. 15 

7 

4 

Stenographer . 

. 39 

5 

0 

Typist . 

. 16 

2 

2 

Watchman . 

. 19 

5 

3 


During the past year, 1,115 temporary appointments were made, 838 
because there was no eligible list extant for the position in question, and 277 
because the employment was essentially temporary or transitory in nature. 
On December 31, 1911, there were still in the service 264 temporary em¬ 
ployees, and of those 225 were at the University of Illinois. This large num¬ 
ber at one institution results from two causes. During the winter months 
many laborers, more or less skilled, are employed in the Engineering and 
Agricultural Experimental Stations work. Their employment is never per¬ 
manent in nature and it would be improper to send regular eligibles to these 
positions. The second reason is that the salaries given in other positions 
are so small that it is frequently necessary to appoint employees subject to 
later examinations, as regular eligibles refuse to accept the small salaries. 
The temporary appointment question is discussed more fully in another para¬ 
graph. 














22 


Rough draft. 


Directions: Rearrange the rough dr$ft below, making the 
corrections as indicated, so that the letter will be in the form 
the writer Intended it should be. Absolute aoouracy is required. 

Springfield,, January 29£*r. 1913 



H. L. Dean. 

Secyr-^iiig-r^,aws Comm' 
Urbana, Illinois 


<Z^<La/ 

Dear Hr-.—Dean: 





^of the bill on- Bu llA tng - Con ^t rue t- t on has 
reaohed me and,after a hurrlei oeryukl of its contents I find 



that I desire moro^ln formatio n on theae^polnts- 

(Ir) 4** tle^bf^Inspectors A/keded. The bill provides 
for ^'flfteen lnspector ^o nTy ) ehpJ jft^se^m/ that you have »e* 
^-estimated the foroe necessary as the City of Chicago alone finds 
dlfflculty^ln^ln3^ecti'ng S ~ wope r l y ef»4—t h e y —h av e fourty men. 

( CKj4-b 4 Conflict with TCunlcInal Ordlnances^I ji Fo rce. Is It 
the Intention of your beA^ jto entirely do away with the yreBtnt 
systems of. In3oeotlon. ln^he State, or is it intended to have the~ 
apply ft o oitle3 arni t«(mo^nhere t- h e y hav<r no lnsoectlon at. 

i o/ coat oi amtenances. it 

enforcing 
bui 




(The above exercises in typewriting are graded on speed as well as 
accuracy.) 

Arithmetic. —1. Find the gain on each of the following items and the 
total gain: 


Selling price. 
$32,000.00 
57,640.33 
9,437.00 
89,754.21 
2,341.58 


Cost. 

$27,621.00 

48,924.29 

4,819.22 

78,947.35 

1,838.69 


Gain. 


Total, $ 

2. Give the cost of 2 y 2 gross note books at rate of $4.25 per hundred. 

3. Add: 1/7+2/9+3/4. Multiply 5/6 by 1/8. 

4. Find the total amount due on a note of $624 running 3 years and 1 
month with interest at 6 y 2 per cent. 


Spelling'. 

1. excellent. 

2. forcible. 

3. hoping. 

4. indispensable. 


5. serviceable. 

6. benefited. 

7. confidence. 

8. equivalent. 




























23 


9. grievous. 15. inaugurate. 

10. debatable. 16. noticeable. 

11. counterfeit. 17. deceive. 

12. brilliant. 18. disappoint. 

13. contemptible. 19. discrepancy. 

14. discordant. 20. absorption. 

General duties. —1. Supply either is or are in the following, giving 

briefly your reasons: (a) Each one of the children - frightened, (b) 

Neither John nor Henry - here, (c) Ellen and her brother - com¬ 
ing. (d) Either this man. or his employees-wrong, (e) This kind of 

chicken -my favorite. 

2. Fill blanks with a word chosen from “Group A” or “Group B,” giving 
briefly reasons for your choice: Group A—I, he, who. Group B—me, 

whom, (a) I know - I shall try to please, (b) I think the same as 

-. (c) This is the man, I think, - went first. 

3. Arrange the following in strictly alphabetical order, by surnames: 
Anthony McKenzie, Chester O’Neil, Winfield Henderson, Rouell Ward, Es- 
wald Bartholamew, Henry Lampey, Fred Wachstetter, Wm. Barnard, Roswald 
Odiorne, Fletcher McCauley, Phillip Warren, Walter Carson, Harrison 
Hensen, James Bernard. 

4. Show how you would address envelopes for the following: Geo. H. 
Miller, Judge Superior Court, County Bldg., Cleveland, Ohio; Rev. H. B. 
Morgan, Rennick, Mo., Chaplain of Senate; Hon. David M. Garson, Member 
Congress from Enid, Okla.; Food Commissioner, James B. Morse, 321 North 
Denver Street, Kansas City, Mo.; Supt. of Schools, C. J. Leonard, Law- 
renceville, Ill. 

5. Name two time saving office appliances used in connection with the 
typewriter. 

Letter writing and penmanship. —James L. Lee, whose address is 1421 
Collinsville Ave., Cairo, Ill., writes to the State Civil Service Commission at 
Springfield, Ill., asking for an application blank and information regard¬ 
ing the position of Certified Public Accountant. The examination for this 
position is conducted by the secretary of the University of Illinois, located 
at Urbana, Ill., and Mr. Lee should be referred to him. Write with pen 
and ink a letter to Mr. Lee, answering his letter to the commission. 


DEPARTMENT STENOGRAPHER, RANK III. 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 2; stenography and type¬ 
writing, 4; rough draft, plain copy and letter writing, 2; duties, 1. 

Stenography and typewriting. — (Dictated at 115 words a minute.) 
Supt. W. C. Graves, Pontiac, III. 

Dear Sir: Your letter of February 20 requests authority to make a tem¬ 
porary appointment to fill the vacancy existing in the position of carpenter. 
The commission provides regular forms for this use, and I have no author¬ 
ity to take action except when requests are made out in the regular manner. 
These forms are probably in the hands of your chief clerk. For your in¬ 
formation, I am enclosing copies of the order and requests for temporary 
employment forms. These permits are good only for a period of 30 days. 
In the present case, please fill out the blank as requested in my letter of 
December 30. As I explained at that time, the list for carpenter contains 
no one living in the district assigned to your institution, and it will there¬ 
fore be necessary for me to issue a temporary permit, giving you authority 
to appoint some one until he can take an examination. 

Very truly, 

Mr. Henry C. Abels, Canton , III. 

Dear Sir: I am returning herewith the copies of stories recently sub¬ 
mitted for consideration. None of these seems fitted to our use, the chief 
difficulty being that either the material is a repetition of information 
recently given in government bulletins or else it seems to lack in general 
interest. 

You ask, I believe, for an outline of our needs in the near future. There 
are two that I might mention. We would like to have a story of some 









24 


farmer and what he has accomplished by the use of a steam plow on a 
corn belt farm. We would want a personal story giving the details of his 
experience with a steam plow. Possibly some man in your vicinity has one 
of these machines and his experience would be worth writing up. We want 
pictures and descriptions of things which are so new that there is not one 
chance in a hundred that any considerable number of our readers have 
ever seen them or anything like them. You will readily see that this at 
once bars out all subjects which are not entirely new and original. 

Very truly, 

Mr. H. P. Brighton, Vice-President, Chicago & Eastern Illinois Ry. Co., 

Danville, III. 

Dear Sir: I have your letter of February 18 relative to the case of 
your associate transportation lines. 

This hearing on the question of the service of the Illinois Central and 
Chicago and Alton Railroad Companies was had on the action of the com¬ 
mission after many requests made by residents of the west side. The 
hearing was limited to the question of whether additional flagmen should 
be kept at the cross streets on Eleventh Avenue. It appeared at the hearing 
that all parties agreed that the situation was unsafe, the statements of 
our inspectors and of the railroads’ witnesses tending to show the principal 
danger to be on the tracks between streets and not on the cross streets 
themselves. The train movement consists of a varied amount of freight 
switching done by one engine only. The Public Utilities Commission several 
years ago recommended that flagmen be stationed at certain crossings. 

Very truly, 

Hon. Homer Tice, Chairman Good Roads Committee, Springfield , III. 

Dear Sir: The road question is one in which the interests of the farmer, 
the railroad and. in fact, the whole people are united; and there shouiO 
be a union of all forces to bring about an early improvement of present 
conditions. My hope is that the company that has just been formed repre¬ 
sents the great national awakening and practical movement' we have so 
long awaited. The road engineer has given his approval to the new 
association. When I talked with him about the movement, he indorsed it 
as a welcome aid to the work already being done by the Government. 
“Good roads,” he said, “will be the big factor in doing away with the isola¬ 
tion of country life and in relieving the congestion of the cities. Moreover, 
they will attract high class immigrants to the country.” 

Very truly, 

Plain copy, rough draft letter writing, and duties. —Same as for 
Department Stenographer, Rank II. 

COURT STENOGRAPHER. 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 1; copying from plain 
copy, 1; dictation and transcription of editorial matter, 2; dictation and 
transcription of testimony, 3; rough draft, 1; duties, 1. 

Plain copy: 

65. Hearings—Orders—Record—Copies of Official Documents and Orders. 

At the time fixed for any hearing upon a complaint, the complainant 
and the person or corporation complained of, and such persons or corpora¬ 
tions as the commission may allow to intervene, shall be entitled to be 
heard and to introduce evidence. The commission shall issue process to 
enforce the attendance of all necessary witnesses. At the conclusion of 
such hearing the commission shall make and render findings concerning 
the subject-matter and facts inquired into and enter its order based thereon. 
A copy of such order, certified under the seal of the commission, shall be 
served upon the person or corporation complained of, or his or its attorney, 
which order shall, of its own force, take effect and become operative 20 
days after the service thereof, except as otherwise provided, and shall con- 
. tinue in force either for a period which may be designated therein or until 
cl anged or abrogated by the commission. Where an order cannot, in the 
judgment of the commission, be complied with within 20 days, the commis¬ 
sion may prescribe such additional time as in its judgment is reasonably 
necessary to comply with the order, and may, on application and for good 


25 


cause shown, extend the time for compliance fixed in its order. A full and 
complete record shall be preserved of all proceedings had before the com¬ 
mission, or any member thereof, on any formal hearing had, and all testi¬ 
mony shall be taken down by a stenographer appointed by the commission, 
and the parties shall be entitled to be heard in person or by attorney. 

In case of an appeal from any order or decision of the commission, 
under the terms of sections 68 and 69 of this Act, a transcript of such 
testimony, together with all exhibits or copies thereof introduced and all 
information secured by the commission on its own initiative and considered 
by it in rendering its order or decision, and of the pleadings, record ana 
proceedings in the case, shall constitute the record of the commission: 
Provided , that on appeal from an order or decision of the commission, the 
person or corporation taking the appeal and the commission may stipulate 
that a certain question or certain questions alone and a specified portion only 
of the evidence shall be certified to the court for its judgment, whereupon 
such stipulation and the question or questions and the evidence therein 
specified shall constitute the record on appeal. 

Dictation (at 120 words a minute): 

A jury having been impanelled to ascertain and report the just com¬ 
pensation to the owner of the property proposed to be taken, the specifica¬ 
tions for the proposed levee around the city of Mound City were offered in 
evidence. 

\ 

The specifications for the levee work provided, among other things, as 
follows: (Beginning of quotation) “It is understood that the right-of-way 
for the levee has been secured; that the city of Mound City has obtained 
for the benefit of the contractors, options on lands from which to take 
earth for the levees, and that the cost to the contractors for such earth 
will not exceed $50 per acre. A recommendation for proper waiver of time 
limit of the contract may be made in the discretion of the party of the first 
part subject to the approval of the chief of engineers.” (End of quotation.) 

At the conclusion of the evidence and before retirement of the jury, 
the appellants moved the court to dismiss the petition for the reason that 
the purpose of the proceeding was shown to be not for the purpose of 
acquiring the land in question by the petitioner for the public use men¬ 
tioned in the petition, but for the purpose of resale to the contractor who 
had the contract for making the levee improvement. This motion was 
based upon the provisions of the specifications of the work which has just 
been quoted. These specifications were introduced in evidence at the trial 
to show the character of the work to be done. They did not show or pur¬ 
port to show the nature of the agreement by which the city was procuring 
the work to be done. The paragraph quoted indicated that the city was to 
furnish the earth for the construction of the levee. The statute authorizes 
it to condemn land for this purpose. The fact that the levee was to be 
constructed by contract did not prevent the city from taking land for the 
purpose of securing earth which the city was bound to furnish for the work. 
If the city by contract procured the work to be done by some other agency 
than its own employees, it did not thereby lose its power to condemn land 
to procure the materials necessary for the work. This motion was properly 
denied. 

After the jury had retired and while they were deliberating upon their 
verdict, the judge, at their request and in the absence of parties to the 
suit, went into the jury room and made oral answers to several questions 
asked him by the jury in regard to the appellant’s rights. The appellant 
moved for a new trial, and this action of the court was assigned as one 
reason. It is an error, for which judgment will be reversed, for a trial 
judge to hold any communication with the jury in regard to the instructions 
in the case except in open court. It is immaterial whether the instructions 
given were right or wrong. The policy of the law requires that all the pro¬ 
ceedings of court shall be open and notorious and in the presence of the 
party; so that if he is not satisfied with it, he may take exceptions to it in 
a manner pointed out by law, and not be put to extraneous proof to show 
that an error has been committed in a secret proceeding and in fact out 
of court. 


26 


The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded to the County Court 
of Pulaski County. 

Dictation (at 140 words a minute): 

Hearing of charges preferred by the Secretary of the State Civil Service 
Commission against Bert A. Raymond, Superintendent, Insurance Depart¬ 
ment, Chicago, held in room 502 Commercial National Bank Building, 
August 7, 1913, 10 a. m. Present: J. H. Burdett, W. B. Moulton, Commis¬ 
sioners; R. S. Brown, Stenographer of the Free Employment Office, Chicago, 
as witness; Mr. Lamb representing Bert A. Raymond. 

R. S. Brown, Stenographer, Free Employment Office, examined by Mr. 
Burdett. 

Q. What is your business?—A. Stenographer. 

Q. In what office?—A. Free Employment Office. 

Q. Do you know this gentleman?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Who is he?—A. Mr. Raymond. 

Q. What is his business?—A. Superintendent. 

Q. In the Insurance Office?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. This is a hearing, Mr. Brown, of charges preferred against Bert A. 
Raymond by the Secretary of the State Civil Service Commission. The 
charges are, (1) that he neglects his work as superintendent in that he 
fails to devote a sufficient and proper amount of time to the performance 
thereof; (2) that he engages in other business, to wit, real estate business. 
Will you state anything you know about these charges?—A. I only know 
I have been around his office a few mornings. 

Q. Three mornings?—A. Four mornings, and I did not see him in. 1 
stayed there for three-fourths of an hour one morning, one hour on another 
morning, and the other two mornings I stayed about half an hour and he 
was never in. 

Q. Now why did you go there?—A. I was sent there. 

Q. By whom?—A. One or two mornings I went there on business in 
order to see about the records, when they expect to get the reports and a 
couple of mornings I was sent there to see if Mr. Raymond was there. 

Q. By whom?—A. Mr. Grant. 

Q. Do you know Mr. Grant’s purpose in sending you there? Did he 
tell you his reasons for sending you there?—A. He wanted to see how the 
office was. He wanted me to go there and see if Mr. Raymond was in there. 

Q. Did he tell you?—A. He did one morning, the other morning he 
told me to see if he was in there, that he wanted to find out what time he 
came to work. 

Q. Did he tell you he had received any complaints of Mr. Raymond not 
being in the office?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What did he tell you?—A. I heard Mr. Raymond was in the real 
estate business. I went to find out the straight of it and also the time 
he comes to work, the business hours put in at his office. 

Q. Did he tell you he understood Mr. Raymond had put in the State’s 
time for his private business?—A. Yes, sir. He had. 

Q. Will you describe the visits you paid to Mr. Raymond’s office giving 
the dates where you can?—A. Well, it was on the sixteenth, seventeenth, 
eighteenth and nineteenth of June as nearly as I can remember those are 
the dates. 

Q. You are sure of that?—A. Pretty positive. 

Q. You are sure that you called at that place on or about those days?— 
A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And those were days the office was open for business?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What did you find out on those visits?—A. I stepped into the office— 

Q. What day was this?—A. On the sixteenth, I stepped in his office, 
looked in his private office to see if I could see him. I could not see him! 
I stood around there talking to a fellow right next to his desk talking 
about the report and Mr. Ball was also there, the chief clerk, and got to 
talking about the report and asked him when he thought he'would have 
it ready. Mr. Harris said he would have the report ready soon for me, 
and I said I would like to know when he would have it ready. The other 
mornings I stepped in there and just stood around waiting for Mr. Raymond 
to come down. 


27 


Q. What time was it that you went there on the sixteenth, the first 
visit?—A. It was in the morning. June sixteenth. 

Q. What time is that office open for business?—A. 8.30 a. m. 

Q. How long?—A. I would not swear to it at 8.30. The Insurance 
Department opens sometimes about 8 or 8.30. I think the superintendent’s 
office opens about 8 o’clock. I know I got down to the office at 8.30 and went 
into the office to take off my coat and hat and went down to his office to 
see if he was there. 

Q. He has a private office there?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And you saw all of that office on that visit?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. He was not there?—A. No, sir. 

Q. You could see he was not there or in any other office? If he had 
been there you would have seen him?—A. He was not. 


Hearing resumed at 8 o’clock p. m., April 4, 1908, at Chester, Ill. 

The witness, Cyrus H. Anderson, called as a witness herein, having 
been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:. 

Q. Doctor, what is your name?—A. Cyrus H. Anderson. 

Q. And what is your present occupation?—A. Physician. Medical super¬ 
intendent is the title of the position I hold at the prison. 

Q. Medical superintendent of what?—A. Of the Illinois Asylum for the 
Criminal Insane. 

Q. At Chester, Illinois?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How long have you occupied that position, Doctor?—A. Since the 
20th of September last. 

Q. 1907?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Do you reside at that institution?—A. I do. 

Q. You are a regular practicing physician, are you?—A. I am, yes, sir. 

Q. What previous experience had you had in treating the insane before 
accepting this position?—A. The regular experience of a physician who has 
had 10 years experience. 

Q. Did you make any special study or preparation for such work?—A. 
Yes, sir. I made special study with that end in view, but I could not say 
any other practice or experience than an extensive practice would give one. 

Q. The occasional experience in meeting that kind of patients?—A. Yes, 
sir. 

Q. Did you make any study of institutional matters of that kind?—A. I 
did. I had the question of institutional work in mind for some time, and 
had been preparing and studying for it. 

Q. Now, what class of people are committed to your institution, Doctor?— 
A. The insane class. 

Q. How do they get there?—A. We have three sources, you might say. 
Those who become insane, who are incarcerated in either one of the two 
prisons, are transferred to my institution, provided they are not females. 
Secondly, I get a class of cases known as the mittimus cases that come 
directly from the courts. And, thirdly, I get the class of cases that are 
called the transfer cases, who are transferred from other institutions to this. 

Q. Other insane institutions?—A. Other insane institutions. I don’t 
think I have many of that class now. 

Q. Well, are they all criminals?—A. Well, this case that I refer to as 
having been transferred from Kankakee, who is there in the hospital, I would 
not say that he is a criminal, yet he became dangerous. He frequently 
assaulted the attendants in Kankakee, and became dangerous to the other 
inmates of the institution, and on the recommendation of the State Board 
of Charities, he was transferred to my institution for safe keeping on 
account of homicidal tendencies. That is what I mean by a transfer case. 

Q. For the reason that you are more particularly equipped to handle 
that class of people?—A. That is the idea, I have them to deal with more. 

Q. How many inmates have you there?—A. Two hundred and ten. 

Q. Have you had any serious injuries since you have been there?—A. 
Well, we had one suicide case. 

Q. A patient tried to kill himself?—A. Yes, sir. 




28 


Q. How did he do that?—A. Hung himself. 

Q. Where—in his cell?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Did you have a coroner’s inquest?—A. I did. 

Q. And that was the finding of the jury?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Is that the only coroner’s inquest since you have been there?—A. No, 
sir; there was one other. 

Q. What was the cause of the other?—A. A man died in an epileptic 
seizure. 

Q. And you called in a coroner’s inquest—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And had the matter investigated?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. And that was the finding of the jury?—A. Yes, sir. 

Q. Have you had any complaints of your officers injuring any of the 
patients since you have been there?—A. No, sir; I cannot say that I have had 
complaints. Of course, I have patients there who have delusions of persecu¬ 
tion, who allege all kinds of cruelties against those around them, who do 
not in fact attack them, or ever manifest any violence toward them or other¬ 
wise ill treat them. In fact, the matter of insane delusion is one of the most 
frequent forms of symptoms of the insane. 

Q. Well, have the officers been called upon or been obliged or have they, 
as a matter of fact, struck or injured any of your patients since you have 
been there, that you know of?—A. Occasionally an officer is compelled to 
strike a patient. 

Q. Do the officers carry any weapons?—A. Not at all. 

Q. Do they carry a blackjack or sapper?—A. They do not. , 

Q. They do not carry anything of that kind in the institution?—A. 
Nothing. 

Duties. —1. Give a definition of the following legal terms: Prima facie, 
subpoena, bona fide, docket, deposition, appellee, habeas corpus, alias, arraign, 
indicted. 2. What preliminary information should be shown on the first page 
of a court stenographer’s transcript? 3. Make up a form to follow in writing 
the heading and close of an affidavit, using any town* and county you wish. 
4. How would you be sure of the spelling of proper names mentioned in 
testimony given and the names of witnesses called? 5. Write from 50 to 100 
words, giving your reasons for your favorite method of taking notes, whether 
by pencil, pen, or machine. 


29 


CHAPTER V. 


INSPECTION POSITIONS (GRAIN AND FOOD). 

The largest number of positions of this nature are in the Grain Inspec¬ 
tion Office in Chicago. Food inspectors have important work to do. 

Grain inspection is expert work requiring such a degree of knowledge 
as only long familiarity with grain and practice in accurately judging it 
will give. Exact knowledge of the inspection law is necessary. 

Opportunities for promotion. —Excellent opportunity for promotion is 
offered in the grain inspection service to persons who may enter as grain 
helper, $75 to $85 a month, and rise to supervising grain inspector. An 
idea of the chances of promotion may be obtained from the classification, 
these positions being included in Promotion Class I (Grain Inspection 
Service). Positions of food inspector are included in Promotion Class M 
(Food Inspection Service). 

Training and experience usually counts for 3 points out of 10 in exam¬ 
inations for inspection positions. The other questions usually relate strictly 
to the duties of the position sought and bring out the applicant’s knowledge 
of the law under which the department operates. Frequently a part of the 
test is oral and this may include a practical demonstration of the candi¬ 
date’s ability, as, for instance, the grading of samples of grain. 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Typical questions follow, not including training and experience: 

GRAIN HELPER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; knowledge of grain 
trade, 4; clerical work, 3. Good physical condition required. 

Knowledge of grain trade. —1. What is the purpose of State inspeetion 
of grain? 2. What different kinds of grain are inspected in the markets of 
Illinois? 3. Which grain does the United States export the most? 4. Name 
the two positions next above that of grain helper in the Grain Inspection 
Department. 5. Name five railroads which bring a good deal of grain into 
Chicago. 6. Give your opinion as to what information should be shown on 
a label attached to a sack containing a sample of grain. 7. Wliat quantity 
of grain do you believe would make a suitable sample? 8. Why is it neces¬ 
sary to collect samples of grain very early in the morning? 9. How would 
you locate in the quickest way a car of grain in a local freight yard or on 
a local team track, if furnished with initial, car number, and consignee’s 
name? 

Clerical work. —1. A bushel contains about 2,150 cubic inches. How 
many bushels of wheat will a bin 13 feet by 20 feet by 5 feet contain? 
2. Which of the following is heaviest and which is lightest: (a) a bushel 
of wheat; (b) a bushel of oats; (c) a bushel of shelled corn. 3. Give the 
abbreviation for the following commercial terms: (a) bushel, (b) package, 
(c) collect on delivery, (d) peck, (e) bundle, (f) free on board, (g) hun- 



30 


dredweiglit, (h) ounce, (i) merchandise, (j) barrel. 4. Write about 150 
words on the importance of the inspection of grain. 5. Make an exact copy 
of the following: 


WHEAT. 


Northern. 


Spring wheat. 


Month. 


12 3 


January, 1912. 
February, 1912 
March, 1912 ... 
April, 1912.... 

May, 1912. 

June, 1912. 

Total. 


45,051 
27,046 
64,632 
76, 479 
40,826 
80, 227 


334, 261 


35,939 
32,183 
15,100 
10,000 
216, 296 
22,000 


331,518 


1,465 
1,187 
10,415 


2,048 


15,115 


1 

2 

3,916 

1,042 


19,503 


11, 850 


5, 000 

3, 274 

3,000 

7,190 

40,395 


3 


5,000 
9,812 
8,112 
2, 250 
1,849 


27,023 


GRAIN SAMPLER—CLERK. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; law and duties, 2; 
practical tests, 3; clerical work involved in grain inspection, 2. Candidates 
must pass a physical examination and make a grade of 70 or more on 
clerical duties. 

Law and duties. —1. What is a sample of grain and why is it taken 
by the State? 2. Describe how a sample is taken and what is done with 
it, mentioning briefly the part played by the various State employees that 
handle it and keep the records concerning it. 3. Describe in detail the 
process necessary to take a correct sample or samples fairly representative 
of a carload of grain. 4. Give the legal weights in Illinois, of (a) barley, 
(b) wheat, (c) corn, (d) oats, (e) rye, (f) clover, (g) timothy. 5. What 
is the law regarding the mixing of grains of various grades by public ware¬ 
housemen? 6. If a sampler finds a car damaged and badly 'leaking, what 
is his duty? 7. (a) What circumstances should justify a sampler in report¬ 
ing a car “subject to approval?” (b) What are the duties of the sampler 
in such case? 8. Explain a sampler’s duties with reference to open car 
doors during stormy or inclement weather. 9. What is the difference 
between white oats, Texas oats, and mixed oats? 10. Suppose you find wet 
corn in a car. (a) What causes may have produced this condition 9 (b) 
How would you determine the cause? 11. If you found a car loaded with 
different kinds of grain, what would you do? 

Piactical tests. Candidates are required to grade a number of samples 
of the more ordinary grains handled by the Grain Inspection Department. 

Clerical toork. —See the questions on Knowledge of Clerical Work under 
“Grain Helper.” In this case, however, the questions will be somewhat more 
difficult and will be graded more strictly. The penmanship of the candidate 
will also be taken into account. 


DEPUTY GRAIN INSPECTOR. 

Scope and weights- Training and experience. 3; knowledge of law and 
rules of Grain Inspection Department, written, 3%; oral and practical 31 / 

Knowledge of Law and Rules.- 1 and 2. The Department of Agriculture 
on August 2, 1913, issued a tentative standard graduation of corn worked 
out by the bureau of plant industry, which had been conducting an Extensive 
Con e grefs SrSln gradlng thro «Sho«t the country under the direction of 






































31 


PROPOSED GRADES GIVEN. 
The grades proposed follow: 


Grade classification— 
white, yellow and mixed corn. 

Maximum 
percentage of 
moisture. 

Maximum 
percentage of 
damaged 
corn exclusive 
of “heat 
damaged” or 
“mahogany” 
corn. 

Maximum 
percentage of 
foreign material 
including 
dirt, cob, finely 
broken corn, 
other grains, 
etc. 

Maximum 
percentage of 
badly broken or 
“cracked” corn, 
not including 
finely broken. 

No. 1. 

14.0 

2 

1 

2 

No. 2. 

15.5 

4 

1 

3 

No. 3. 

17. 5 

6 

2 

4 

No. 4. 

19. 5 

8 

2 

4 

No. 5. 

21. 5 

10 

3 

5 

No. 6. 

23.0 

15 

5 

7 





Sample.—See general rule No. 6 for sample grade. 

The following general rules for grading corn are proposed: 1. The corn 
in grades No. 1 to No. 5 must be sweet. 2. White corn, all grades, shall be 
at least 98 per cent white. 3. Yellow corn, all grades, shall be at least 95 
per cent yellow. 4. Mixed corn, all grades, shall include corn of various 
colors not coming within the limits for color as provided for under white or 
yellow corn. 5. In addition to the limits indicated, No. 6 corn may be musty, 
sour, and may also include corn of inferior quality, such as immature and 
badly blistered. 6. All corn that does not meet the requirements of either 
or the six numerical grades, by reason of an excessive percentage of moisture, 
damaged kernels, foreign matter, or badly broken corn, or corn that is hot, 
heat damaged, fire burnt, infested with live weevil or otherwise of distinctly 
low quality, shall be classed as sample grade. 7. In No. 6 and sample grade, 
reasons for so grading shall be stated on the inspector’s ticket or certificate. 
8 . Finely broken corn shall include all broken particles of corn that will 
pass through an 8 by 8 mesh wire sieve, the diameter of the wire to be 
twenty-five thousandths of an inch. 9. Badly broken or “cracked” corn shall 
include all broken pieces of kernels that will pass through a 4 by 4 mesh 
wire sieve, the diameter of the wire to be thirty-six thousandths of an inch, 
except that the finely broken corn, as provided for under Rule 8, shall not 
be considered as badly broken or “cracked” corn. 10. It is understood that 
the damaged corn, the foreign material, including cob, dirt, finely broken 
corn, other grains, etc., and the badly broken or “cracked” corn, as provided 
for under the various grades, shall be such as occur naturally in corn when 
handled under good commercial conditions. 11. Moisture percentages as 
provided for in these grade specifications shall conform to results obtained 
by the standard method and tester as described in Circular 72, Bureau of 
Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture—Take each item 
given above and compare it to present requirements of State Grain Inspection 
Department. 

3 (a) Name the different kinds of wheat (not grades) mentioned in 
the Rules of the State Grain Inspection Department and tell fully why each 
kind is thus named, (b) Grade any one of the above classes of wheat 
according to the Rules. 4. (a) What is “hardness” in wheat? Name five 
kinds of wheat in the order of their hardness, (b) To what may light 
weight in wheat be due? (c) Under what conditions would a Sample 
Grade” of wheat exist? 5. (a) How would you know when grain has been 
exposed to weather? (b) To overheating in the bin? (c) What are the 
specific provisions in Rules relative to new crops? 6. (a) State the char¬ 
acteristics of a good oat grain, (b) Can the comparative merits of oats 
be determined by weighing thenW State in detail leasons foi answer, 
(c) Name the different classes of oats (not grades) mentioned in the Rules 
and define each kind.' 7. (a) Grade one class of oats, giving requirements 
of grade (b) Name in their relative importance the principal factors 
determining the grades of rye. 8. (a) State the characteristics of barley 

























32 


fit to be used for malting purposes, (b) What are the causes of the various 
colors found in barley? (c) Name the defects commonly found in barley, 
giving causes of each. 9. (a) What are the objects and. duties of the Reg¬ 
istration Department? (b) What is the law regarding the mixing of grains 
of various grades by public warehousemen? (c) Give the legal weights in 
Illinois of barley, wheat, corn, oats, rye, clover, and timothy. 10. What do 
you mean by the inspection and grading of grains and what is its purpose? 

The practical test included actual grading of samples of grain such as 
might come to the department. 

FOOD INSPECTOR. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; technical questions on 
duties, 4 2/3; oral examination, 2 1/3. 

Technical. —1. (a) What is “ketchup?” (b) Name the various ingre¬ 
dients entering into, and the mode of manufacture of tomato ketchup. 2. 

(a) What is glucose? (b) How is it obtained? (c) Of what use in the man¬ 
ufacture of food products? (d) In what forms and under what names is 
it commonly sold? 3. What would receive your particular attention in 
inspecting a (a) grocery store? (b) bakery? (c) dairy? (d) meat mar¬ 
ket? (e) restaurant. 4. (a) What is pasteurized milk? (b) What is ster¬ 
ilized milk? (c) What is modified milk? (d) Has the bacteria count in 
milk any significance, and if so, what? (e) What diseases are spread 
through milk and what means should be taken by the inspector to prevent 
them? 5. Give the several legal definitions of adulteration as applied to 
foods, and give an example of each. 6. What is misbranding within the 
meaning of the food law? Give three examples. 7. (a) Give in detail the 
method to follow in making the sanitary inspection of a canning factory. 

(b) Give the most important points to be observed. 8. (a) Name the 
several kinds of vinegar on the market, (b) Describe the method of man¬ 
ufacture of distilled vinegar, (c) What is the minimum legal acid strength 
of vinegar in Illinois? (d) What is the “acid” of vinegar? 9. (a) Under 
what conditions is a person not allowed to work in a building used for the 
production or distribution of food? (b) If on inspection under a State 
law, an employee is found to be suffering from consumption, what steps 
should be taken by the inspector? 10. (a) Describe the source from* which 
the following sugars are obtained: cane, beet, maple, grape, climax, and 
brewers, (b) What is the chemical difference between cane and maple 
sugar? (c) What substitute is often used for sugar, and in what products? 


* 


33 




CHAPTER VI. 


MEDICAL AND NURSING POSITIONS. 

The examinations for medical interne and assistant physician are the 
means of entering a service which holds out a good chance for advancement. 
By promotional examinations, open only to those in the service, the way is 
opened to the positions of physician and assistant superintendent, the latter 
officer being the chief of all the medical and nursing staff at a hospital for 
the insane. See Classification, Promotional Class C (Institution Physician 
Service). 

Graduate nurses are in line for promotion to supervising nurse and 
chief nurse in hospitals for the insane. Usually the examinations for male 
supervising nurse are open to the general public as original entrance tests. 
See Classification, Promotional Class D (Institution Nursing Service). Grad¬ 
uate nurses are appointed from among those attendants that take the free 
training school course in the State hospitals and pass the final examinations. 
See Chapter VII. 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

The portion of the medical interne examination on training and experi¬ 
ence is given only a weight of 2 out of 10, as it is not expected that appli¬ 
cants will have had much or any experience. For other positions of this 
class, this part of the examination is given higher weight, usually 3 and 
sometimes 4. The division of the remaining portions is indicated in the 
following typical sets of questions (training and experience not included): 

MEDICAL INTERNE. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 2; medicine, 2; surgery, 2; 
nervous and mental, 2; pathology, 2. 

Medicine. —1. Give the cardinal points in the diagnosis of typhoid fever. 

2. Differential diagnosis between lobar pneumonia and pleurisy with effusion. 

3. Pathology and diagnosis of tuberculosis of the kidney. 

Surgery. —1. Diagnosis and operative treatment of gall-stones. 2. Treat¬ 
ment of compound fracture of the lower third of both bones of the leg. 

Xervous and mental. —1. Differentiate the clinical manifestations of 
tumor of the brain from other conditions which resemble them. 2. Etiology 
and symptoms of acute anterior poliomyelitis. 

Pathology. —1. Describe the diphtheria bacillus. 2. Gross and micro¬ 
scopic pathologic anatomy of acute scarlatinal nephritis. 

ASSISTANT PHYSICIAN. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 4; medicine, 2; surgery, 1; 
nervous and mental diseases, 2; pathology, 1. 

Medicine. —1. Symptoms and diagnosis of small-pox. 2. Diagnosis and 
treatment of peptic ulcer of the stomach. 

Surgery. —1. Symptoms and treatment of intestinal obstruction. 2. 
Diagnosis and treatment of extrauterine pregnancy. 

Xervous and mental. —1. Symptoms of alcoholic multiple neuritis. 2. 
Discuss the manifestations of cerebral arteriosclerosis. 3. Give the diagnos¬ 
tic points of general paresis in the order of their importance. 


—3 C S 



34 


Pathology. — 1 . Findings of the cerebrospinal fluid in the various forms 
of meningitis. 

GRADUATE NURSE. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; technical knowledge, 7. 

Technical knowledge. —1. (a) Mention three common causes for bed¬ 
sores. (b) Outline nursing measures to prevent bed-sores. 2. (a) How 
would you prepare and administer a cleansing enema? (b) Give formulae 
for two nutritive enematae. (c) Give formula for a stimulating enema. 
3. (a) Outline in detail the preparation of articles necessary for catheteriza¬ 
tion. (b) Outline the preparation of the nurse’s hands for catheterization, 
(c) State in detail your method of collecting a 24-hour specimen of urine 
for laboratory examination. 4. (a) Mention all articles needed and outline 
their preparation for a gastric lavage (stomach-wash), (b) Write out two 
formulae for gastric gavage (tube-feeding). 5. (a) What discharges must 
be disinfected in the following diseases: typhoid fever; scarlet fever; tuber¬ 
culosis; small-pox; diphtheria? (b) Outline the nursing care in typhoid 
fever. 6. (a) Name three solutions which are disinfectant in full strength 
and mildly antiseptic in weak solution. 7. (a) Give reasons why occupation 
and entertainment are useful aids to recovery in mental disorders. 8. (a) 
What precautions would you especially observe in nursing a case of purulent 
conjunctivitis? (b) What five points of importance must be noted when 
taking pulse? 9. (a) Classify the bones according to shape and give example 
of each, (b) What is the periosteum and what is its function? 10. (a) 
Name the divisions of the respiratory tract, (b) Name the muscles con¬ 
cerned in respiration. 11. (a) Name the divisions of the digestive tract, 
(b) What two special purposes does bile serve? 12. (a) Name the two dis¬ 
tinct varieties of muscles and give examples of each, (b) Name and locate 
a serous membrane, (c) What are mucous membranes and where are they 
found? (d) Name the three most important organs concerned in elimina¬ 
tion. 13. Define bacteria. 14. Name five diseases produced by bacteria, giv¬ 
ing name of bacteria producing same. 15. Describe in full your method of 
fumigating a room after a contagious disease. 16. (a) Name the food prin¬ 
ciples and give examples of each, (b) Why is milk considered a perfect 
food? 17. (a) How would you prepare an egg-nog? (b) How would you 
peptonize milk? 18. Give the menu for the first three days of convalescence 
of a typhoid patient. 19. (a) How would you prepare 1 pt. of Normal Salt 
Solution, Formalin 1:1000, 1 qt. Bichloride of Mercury 1:1000, 1 qt. Carbolic 
Acid 5%. 20. (a) Name ways by which medicine may be introduced into 

the system, (b) Describe in detail your method of giving a hypodermic 
injection. 21. (a) Give symptoms and treatment of opium poisoning, (b) 
Give doses of following: (I) Epsom Salts; (2) Fowler’s Solution; (3) 
Hyoscine; (4) Strychnine Sulphate; (5) Asperin; (6) Salol. 22. Give two 
the symptoms and treatment of opium poisoning. 8. (a) What is meant by 
methods of preparing the abdomen for laparotomy? 23. (a) How would you 
sterilize sharp surgical instruments? (b) Dull surgical instruments? (c) 
Linen fabrics? (d) Rubber tubing? (e) Gutta-percha rubber tissue? (f) 
Clinical thermometer? (g) Silk worm-gut? (h) Linen suture? 24. How 
would you prepare your arms for assistance in a clean surgical operation? 
25. (a) Mention various kinds of wounds, (b) What effect has infection on 
a wound? Describe both local and constitutional symptoms that wound in¬ 
fection may produce. 

MALE SUPERVISING NURSE. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; practical nursing, 4; 
administration, 3. 

Practical nursing. —1. (a) Define ventilation. How is good ventilation 
procured? (b) Give the temperature of a ward during the day; the night. 
2. (a) What is the difference between subjective and objective symptoms? 
(b) Name four objective symptoms. 3. Give the cause, prevention, and treat¬ 
ment of bed sores. 4. (a) Describe in detail your method of giving a Brand 
bath, (b) State the purposes for which it is given, (c) State precautions 
in giving it. 5. (a) Name four rules to be observed in the nursing care of 


35 


nervous and insane patients, (b) Give points to be observed in the nursing 
care of a case of epilepsy. 6. (a) State the purpose for which enemata are 
given, (b) Tell how to prepare and administer a nutritive enema. 7. Give 
the suppression of urine? Retention? Incontinence? (b) What is the spe¬ 
cific gravity of normal urine? 9. (a) Outline in detail the preparation of 
articles necessary for catheterization, (b) Outline the preparation of the 
nurse’s hands. 10. What serious results may follow careless catheterization? 
11. How would you prepare and administer a soap-suds enema? 12. (a) 
Mention three common causes for bed sores, (b) Outline the 'nursing meas¬ 
ures to prevent bed sores. 13. Give reasons why occupation and entertain¬ 
ment are useful aids to recovering in mental disorders. 14. What do you 
consider your duty in this matter? 15. (a) What special attention must be 
given to epileptic patients? (b) How would you care for them during a 
seizure? 16. What nursing measures may be employed to induce sleep in 
restless patients? 

Administration. —1. How can you, as supervising nurse, assist an institu¬ 
tion to make the administration one of economy without the sacrifice of 
efficiency? 2. Outline in a general way the daily routine of ward work on 
a reception ward. (For acute cases.) 3. Write briefly on the care of feeble- 
demented, untidy patients. 4. What do you consider the duties of a male 
supervising nurse? 



CHAPTER VII 


MINOR HOSPITAL POSITIONS. 

The State of Illinois needs honorable young men and women to work 
in its State institutions. It is willing to pay them good wages, furnish 
them with excellent quarters, good board, recreation, and an education in 
which the possibilities are almost unlimited. The entering positions are 
those of attendant, domestic and laborer. The examinations for attendants 
can easily be passed by anyone with a common school education and a sound 
body. The examinations for domestics and laborers require only good 
physical condition and satisfactory previous record. Further details as to 
requirements may be found on page 7. Examinations are conducted at the 
charitable institutions listed on page 7, at 9 a. m. on each Saturday, and 
at various other points over the State by local physicians authorized by 
the commission to examine applicants. 

In most institutions there is a steady demand for both men and women 
as attendants and as the opportunity for increase in salary and for study 
under the instruction of experienced nurses and physicians is offered free 
of charge, the positions are attractive. At most of the institutions the 
State maintains quarters for attendants and nurses far better than would 
be found in the average home. It is planned to erect at each hospital where 
they do not now exist, buildings for the special accommodation of the em¬ 
ployees where each will have his private room, nicely furnished, lighted 
and heated. In Chapter I, pages 7 to 11, full details are given as to dates and 
places of examination. 

In each State hospital a training school for nurses is conducted which 
attendants are encouraged to attend and after graduating in a two-years’ 
course they become graduate nurses. They may rise in turn to positions 
as supervising nurse and chief nurse. See Classification, Promotion Class 
D, (Institution Nursing Service). 

SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 


ATTENDANT. 

Scope and weights .—Common school requirements, 3; physical, 5; quali¬ 
fications and duties, 2. 

Common school requirements. —1. A barrel of flour weighs 196 pounds, 
what is the weight of 639 barrels? 2. From what countries do we import 
most of the coffee consumed in the United States? 3. Name five railroads 
which own a right-of-way within the State of Illinois. 4. Write between 
50 and 100 words telling about the war in Europe. 5. Copy the following 
exactly. (You will be marked on penmanship and accuracy): Any person 
who shall maltreat (abuse or strike) any insane person shall be guilty of 
a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding 
one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both, at the 
discretion of the court in which such conviction is had. 




37 


CHAPTER VIII. 


INSURANCE DEPARTMENT POSITIONS. 

M ork in the Insurance Department offers good chance for promotion as 
the positions are numerous and the higher positions pay good salaries. 
Persons who start in as insurance clerks are directly in line for promotion 
to such positions as actuary or chief insurance clerk, paying salaries up 
to $350 a month. See Classification, Promotion Class J (Insurance Service.) 
In the lower grade positions in this department the examinations deal 
more with the applicant’s general knowledge of office methods and with his 
ability to handle the ordinary processes of arithmetic than with any detailed 
knowledge of the insurance law or its administration. In the higher 
positions it will be expected that applicants have thorough knowledge of 
the law under which the department operates. Actuaries must be thoroughly 
skilled in the actuarial science. 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Typical questions follow (not including training and experience): 

INSURANCE CLERK. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; penmanship and 
arithmetic, 5; clerical duties, 2. 

Penmanship and arithmetic. —1. Copy the following: “Since the date 
of the last report, examinations have been made of the following named 
fire insurance companies, either in the matter of incorporation, upon appli¬ 
cation for admission, or to ascertain their financial condition: 

Central National Fire Insurence Co., Chicago, Ill. 

German Fire Insurance Co., Peoria, Ill. 

Insurance Co. State of Illinois, Rockford, Ill. 

Miller’s Mutual Fire Insurance Ass’n, Alton, Ill. 

“No other form of insurance activity has in recent years been the 
subject of so frequent legislative inquiry and attack as fire insurance. 
Whatever may be the results of these investigations, or the operation of the 
recently enacted laws, the cause of the agitation is traceable directly to the 
stock fire insurance companies. 

“Immediately following the San Francisco fire, while the attention of 
the whole country was directed to fire insurance, the fire insurance com¬ 
panies began a nation-wide campaign of publicity and fire insurance 
education. 

“Of necessity, it was their first duty to bring the public to a full under¬ 
standing of the importance and magnitude of the problems involved, and 
to do this the elements of the premium charge were analyzed, and for the first 
time in the history of the business were in a systematic way made public. 

“It was shown that American insurers were paying more than $2.50 
per capita annually in premium charges, while the cost of the same indem¬ 
nity in foreign countries was from one-fourth to one-twentieth of this 
amount. 

“The fire companies through various organized agencies for this pur¬ 
pose, exploited the necessity for better building laws and ordinances, for 
cleaner streets, alleys and buildings, safer electrical wiring, the general 



38 



removal of all known causes of fire, and especially the enactment of more 
stringent laws providing greater personal responsibility for preventable 
fire losses. 

“This educational campaign has not in all localities met with the 
result anticipated, but, on the contrary, some of the states have assumed 
that the reason for the high cost of fire insurance was entirely with the 
insurance companies, rather than with the insurance buyers.” 

2. Copy the following and add horizontally and vertically: 


$49,734 06 
3,419 68 
21,061 75 
671 42 
545 95 


$ 221 20 
5,294 53 
356 82 
20,755 00 
6,423 89 


$ 15 00 

561 58 
74 80 
8,413 25 
5,665 50 


$ 1,238 35 
23,592 37 
684 90 
2,654 00 
884 15 


3. Multiply 8,281.56 by 5,256 and divide the result by 219. 

4. Copy the form shown below. Make the extensions necessary to fill 
the right hand column and add that column, placing the total at the foot: 


Employee No. 


Days worked. 


Rate per day. 


Amount. 


1 

25 

$2 60 

2 

21 

2 75 

3 

25 

2 75 

4 

18 

1 75 

5 

24 

2 30 

6 

25 

2 00 

n 

i 

15 

1 90 

8 ' 

19 

1 90 

9 

25 

1 75 

10 

22 

1 60 

11 

18 

1 50 

12 

25 

1 50 

13 

25 

1 30 

14 

9 

1 25 

Total— 

lerical 

duties. —1. In checking 

proof, which ! 

or the 

proof? Why? 2. (a) 

Name two kirn 


monly used, (b) For what sort of work is each particularly adapted? 
3. Mention five appliances or machines used to facilitate office work and 
explain briefly the use of each. 4. Following are figures showing the num¬ 
ber and amount of policies terminated in 1912 and 1913 and the cause of 
termination. Arrange this information in tabular form as for a report: 


1912: 

By death . 

. 302,028; 

amounting 

to 

$160,794,869 

By maturity . 

. 75,760; 

amounting 

to 

144,349,564 

By surrender . ... 

. 293,882; 

amounting 

to 

289,746,611 

By lapse . 

.2,784,670; 

amounting 

to 

752,276,013 

By transfer . 

. 4,588; 

amounting 

to 

87,684,367 

1913: 

By death . 

. 314,674; 

amounting 

to 

171,366,152 

By maturity . 

. 79,774; 

amounting 

to 

138,538,202 

By surrender ... . 

. 305,491; 

amounting 

to 

295,667,928 

By lapse. 

.2,671,578; 

amounting 

to 

717,292,796 

By transfer . 

. 1,414; 

amounting 

to 

70,190,009 


5. Mention the fundamental forms of life insurance policies indicating 
briefly the distinctive features of each. 6. State briefly the essential differ¬ 
ences between life insurance organizations on the “legal reserve,” “assess¬ 
ment,” and “fraternal” bases. 7. State your opinion of the desirability of 
a licensing system for agents of insurance companies. Give your. reasons. 
8 . What filing system of agents’ records would be best suited for Insurance 
Department purposes? 


CHIEF CLERK, INSURANCE DEPARTMENT. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; knowledge of insurance 
laws, 5; department practice, 2. 































39 




i noivledge of insurance laws. — 1. Explain the necessary steps to be taken 
in order to organize in Illinois, (a) A Legal Reserve Life Insurance Com¬ 
pany, (b) An Assessment Life Association, (c) A Fraternal Beneficiary 
Society, (d) A Stock Fire Insurance Company, (e) A Mutual Fire Insur¬ 
ance Company, (f) A Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, (g) A Stock 
Casualty Company, (h) A Live Stock Company, (i) A Surety Company. 

N ame the kinds of investments permitted by law to each of the classes 
of companies mentioned in “1.” 3. (a) Name the different kinds of busi¬ 
ness permitted under the Stock Casualty Act. (b) How much capital is 
required to do each class of business in Illinois? 4. How much of the 
declared stock of the following companies must be paid in before the com¬ 
pany can commence business? (a) A Legal Reserve Life Insurance Com¬ 
pany, (b) A Stock Fire Insurance Company, (c) A Stock Casualty Com¬ 
pany, (d) A Live Stock Company, (e) A Surety Company. 5. When is (a) 
a Fraternal Order insolvent? (b) a Regular Life Insurance Company? 
(c) an Assessment Life Association? (d) a Stock Fire Insurance Com¬ 
pany? 6. Explain the provisions of the Reserve Deposit Law applicable to 
regular life companies of Illinois. 7. Explain (a) Inter-Insurance, (b) 
Lloyds Insurance, (c) Surplus Line Fire Insurance. Give the main pro¬ 
visions of law governing each. 8. On what basis are insurance companies 
taxed, which are transacting business in Illinois? 

Department Practice. —1 . Outline a proper organization for a State In¬ 
surance Department. Give the duties of the heads of the various divisions 
you would use, and indicate their relations to each other. 2. How would 
you, as chief clerk, determine the comparative efficiency of (a) insurance 
examiners? (b) Clerks? 

ACTUARY. 

This examination was unassembled and consisted of a careful inquiry 
into the training and experience of each applicant, together with a thorough 
verification of all answers and statements made by the applicants. Follow¬ 
ing are the questions used to bring out this information: 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 10. 

Training and experience. —1. Full name. 2. Postoffice address. 3. Place 
and date of birth. 4. State briefly the extent of your education, indicating 
the years so spent and the schools attended. 5. Describe the training you 
went through to fit you for actuarial work. 6. (a) Name any acturial socie¬ 
ties of which you are a member, (b) If a member, state whether you were 
admitted by examination or otherwise. Give examination dates. 7. (a) 
To what extent are you familiar with the laws governing Legal Reserve 
Life Insurance Companies of Illinois? Name their strong features. In what 
particulars are they weak? (b) Of the middle West? 8. What experience 
have you had in insurance accounting and in the preparation of department 
statements? 9. List the positions you have occupied in actuarial work, giv¬ 
ing the following information: (a) Employer. (Give present address, if 
possible); (b) Position occupied; (c) Approximate dates between which 
such position was held; (d) Salary received; (e) Nature of work done; (f) 
Reason for leaving. 10. What employment have you had (not listed above) 
which would tend to fit you for the position of actuary in the Illinois Insur¬ 
ance Department? 11. Have you ever examined any life insurance com¬ 
panies? If so, for what departments? 12. Name any articles or papers 
written by you on actuarial subjects. (Give dates of publication approxi¬ 
mately, paper in which published, etc.) 13. State any particular studies 
you have made, or experiences encountered, not mentioned in preceding 
questions, which would tend to fit you for the position sought. 


/ 


40 





CHAPTER IX. 


TEACHING POSITIONS. 

The teaching positions of the State are sufficiently varied to attract per¬ 
sons who have had experience in teaching in almost any of the more 
ordinary lines. They range from kindergarten teacher through all the 
grades to principal of the school, and also include industrial, manual 
training, and fancy work teaching, instruction of the deaf and blind, in the 
use of musical instruments and in singing. For the lower grade positions 
training and experience is usually given a weight of 2 out of 10, while for 
principal the weight is 3. It is seldom that the commission has enough 
male applicants for these positions to fill vacancies as they occur. Like¬ 
wise, at some institutions it is difficult to get enough women to handle the 
work. 

For opportunities of promotion see Classification, Promotion Class L 
(Teaching Service). 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Following are typical questions omitting the training and experience: 

PRIMARY TEACHER. 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 1; class room manage¬ 
ment, 3; special method, 3; knowledge of subject matter, 2. 

Class room management. —1. State what you would do the first day of 
school to get classes organized and in working shape. 2. What difficulties 
arise from putting a backward 12-year -old pupil with a first grade class? 

3. The pupils in a second grade class range in age from 7 to 13; some of the 
older ones are feebleminded, and some are normal but have had little school 
training. Give your idea as to the extent instruction should be individual. 

4. Give a program for the day. (Assume you have pupils of only one grade.) 

5. What do you consider ideal conditions as to light, heat, and ventilation 
in a school room? 6. What are the principal problems of discipline in the 
first grade? The fourth grade? 7. Give your idea of the relation that 
should exist between a primary teacher in a State institution school and 
the principal. 8. To what extent should games and physical exercise be 
used in a State institution school? Why? 

Special Method. —1. Explain what you consider the best method of 
teaching reading to beginners in a State institution school. 2. Explain in 
detail how you would conduct a drill on the facts of the addition tables. 
3. Briefly describe two games and two other physical exercises suitable for 
use in the lower grades of a State institutional school. 4. What use may be 
made of Mother Goose rhymes in the lower grades? 5. For what class of 
pupils in State institutions are each of the following kinds of stories suit¬ 
able: (a) Fairy stories; (b) Pioneer stories; (c) Myths; (d) Stories of 
adventure. 6. Tell how you teach pupils to use the dictionary. 7. Explain 
what use of famous paintings you would make in the second grade. 8. How 
would you teach pupils to use paragraphs in their own writing? 

Knowledge of subject matter. — (You will be marked on penmanship from 
this paper.) 1. Give directions for an exercise in paper folding. (Use the 
exact words you would employ before a class.) 2. Give a brief account of 



41 


Pestalozzi and Froebel. 3. Account for the difference in industries in Illinois 
and Massachusetts. 4. Account for the settling of southern Illinois by immi¬ 
grants from the southern states. 5. Sketch Illinois and show the location 
of five of the largest cities. 6. Name and describe some insect and explain 
its relation to plants. 7. Name 10 plants whose seeds are extensively used 
by man, and tell how the seeds are used. 8. Write a composition of 150 to 
200 words on one of these subjects: (a) Woman Suffrage (b) Vocational 
Training; (c) My Opinion of Lynching. 

ADVANCED TEACHER. 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 1; class room manage¬ 
ment, 2; special method, 2; knowledge of subject matter, 4. 

Glass room management. — 1 . What do you consider the most difficult 
problem of discipline in grades five to eight in a State institution school? 
2. Tell in detail how you would deal with one of the problems given in your 
answer to question 1. 3. What are the requirements of a good drill? 4. 

Suppose you teach in a room with windows on the south and west, and that 
the pupils face north. State just what adjustment of the window shades 
you would make on a clear day from the time of your arrival in the morning 
until the end of the school day to secure the best possible lighting. 5. De¬ 
scribe three games or physical exercises you consider suitable for use in the 
upper grades of a State institution school. 6. State in detail a good method 
of helping pupils to prepare their lesson. 7. To what extent should the 
instruction of backward children be individual in grades five to eight of a 
State institution school? Describe fully how you would manage to give the 
individual instruction you think necessary. 

Special method. —1. How would you deal with each of these difficulties 
in a fifth grade reading class: (a) Poor enunciation; (b) Expressionless 
reading; (c) Habitual mispronunciation of words. 2. To what extent should 
manual training, domestic science, and other such studies be related to other 
school work in the case of backward and feeble-minded children? How 
may this be done? 3. What means would you use to interest an indifferent 
class in a geography lesson on the corn belt? 4. Which is more important, 
oral reading or mental reading? Why? 5. What thing should receive most 
emphasis in the study of the Civil War by a seventh or eighth grade class? 
Why? 6. How many and what methods of computing interest should be 
taught in the grades of a State institution school? Why? 7. What can be 
done to improve poor writing and spelling by a seventh grade boy? 

Knowledge of subject matter. —1. (a) What is a cold? (b) How is a 
cold caught? (c) How may colds be prevented? 2. Who is your favorite 
American author? Why? Name his principal works. 3. What is the cost, 
at $26 per M., of twelve 10-inch by 10-inch sills 16 feet long? 4. Name five of 
the principal agricultural products of the United States, and three states 
that lead in the production of each. 5. Name three problems the increasing 
urban population has raised in this country. 6. Select and describe the 
clauses: This world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all 
be as happy as kings. 7. What are the principal laws enacted by the present 
Congress? 8. Explain why southern California has rainy winters and dry 
summers. 9. Write a composition of 200 to 250 words on “Vocational Train¬ 
ing in the Schools.” (You will be marked on penmanship, sentence struc¬ 
ture, organization, paragraphing, and punctuation.) 

PRINCIPAL. 

Scope and weights. —School management, 3; general and special method, 
3 ; knowledge of subject matter, 2; training and experience, 2. 

School management. —1. Outline what you consider the most important 
duties of a principal in a State institution. 2. Give fully a plan of coopera¬ 
tion between principal and teachers in securing discipline. 3. State what 
you consider ideal class room conditions as to: (a) Lighting; (b) Heating; 
(c) Ventilation; (d) Seating. 4. A boy of thirteen is able to do only second 
grade work. What sort of instruction should he receive? Why? 5. To 
what extent do you think the common branches can be and should be cen¬ 
tered around such subjects as manual training and domestic science? 6. 


I 



42 


To what extent should dancing, marching, and other physical exercises 
receive attention with backward and feeble-minded children? Why? 7. What 
plan would you use in supervising the work of the teachers under you? 8. 
Discuss in 200 to 300 words the extent to which vocational training and 
guidance should be given children in State institutions. 

General and special method. —1. Give five important points to consider 
in judging a recitation. 2. Describe three games or physical exercises you 
consider suitable for use in a State institution school. 3. How may an in¬ 
different child be interested in: (a) Composition; (b) Reading; (c) Arith¬ 
metic? 4. What is the value of manual training to a subnormal boy? 5. In 
what grade and in what way should the study of geography be taken up in 
a State institution school? 6. A ten-year-old boy has trouble in remembering 
the addition tables. Suggest three means of overcoming the difficulty. 7. 
A fifth grade pupil pays no attention to punctuation marks or sense in 
reading. How may the fault be corrected? 8. A fourteen-year-old girl has 
difficulty in keeping pace with the fourth grade class to which she is assigned, 
and becomes discouraged. Name three things that may be done to encourage 
her to put forth her best efforts. 

Knowledge of subject matter .— (You will be marked in penmanship 
from this paper.) 1. It is often said that “hot air rises." Is this a true 
statement? Give reasons for your answer. 2. What are the conditions that 
account for the production of three-fourths of the world’s corn crop in the 
United States? 3. Discuss the changes in the tariff laws of the United States 
since 1860. 4. (a) Whom do you consider the greatest American poet? (b) 

Why? (c) Name his best known poems. 5. A grocer buys canned corn at 
$1.40 per dozen cans, with discounts of 10 and 5 per cent. He sells the cans 
“two for a quarter.” What is his per cent of profit? 6. Name and define 
the three parts that every sentence must have. 7. Write a composition of 
about 200 words on the subject “My Favorite Magazine” or “My Opinion of 
the Good Roads Movement.” 8. Make an exact copy of the following: Page 
1348, Chapter 85, Section 28, Hurd’s Revised Statutes. (Conspiracy to Com¬ 
mit—Penalty.) Any person who shall maltreat (abuse or strike) any insane 
person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall 
be fined not exceeding $1,000, or imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both, 
at the discretion of the court in which such conviction is had. 




CHAPTER X. 


PRISON POSITIONS. 

Persons who work as guards, deputy or assistant deputy warden, or 
parole agent in the two penitentiaries and the reformatory, should be in 
good physical condition and be able to keep their heads in emergencies. 
Guards and parole agents for the Chester Penitentiary must live in the 
district assigned to that institution. The same holds for the Joliet prison. 
The dividing line runs approximately from Danville to Quincy. There is 
no residence restriction for the Pontiac Reformatory. Guards and parole 
agents must be between 25 and 55 years old, not less than 5 feet 7 inches 
high, weigh not less than 150 pounds. Female guards must be between 25 
and 50 years; minimum height and weight same as for men. 

Opportunities for promotion. —Guards are in line of promotion up to 
Deputy Warden, $150 to $200 a month. See Classification, Promotion Class 
E (Prison Service). 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

The examination for guard is framed to bring out the applicant’s gen¬ 
eral brightness. For the other positions more stress is laid on the appli¬ 
cant’s knowledge of the duties of the position in question and his ability 
to exercise his judgment. Typical questions follow (not including training 
and experience): 

GUARD. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; verbal orders, 1; edu¬ 
cational, 1; qualifications and duties, 2%; oral, 2 y 2 ; good physical condition 
required. 

Verbal orders. —The following orders are read twice distinctly to the 
candidates as a class who write the order down from memory. Grades are 
based on the substance of the matter written and not on the exact wording 
as read: 1. Instruct the band leader to have the prison band stationed in 
the main corridor at noon today to welcome the Governor on his tour of 
inspection. 2. Take convict No. 836 to the warden’s office at 2 o’clock 
tomorrow afternoon to receive his parole papers. 

Educational. —1. Name an important law passed by the last Legislature. 

2. What are the conditions that make Illinois a leading agricultural State? 

3. Name and locate five large cities in the United States and give one 
important fact about each. 4. In 75 or 100 words, tell the most important 
facts about the trouble the United States has had with Mexico. 5. Make an 
exact copy of the following extract from the Civil Service law; (you will 
be marked on accuracy and penmanship): 

Section 1. (Statute, Sec. 3a.) For the purpose of establishing uniformity 
of pay and title for all offices and places of employment classified in the 
same grade, it shall be the duty of the commission to prescribe by rule the 
maximum and minimum pay for each grade. 

Qualifications and duties. —1. If you had a gang of 10 men outside the 
walls and 2 of them should start to run away in opposite directions, what 
would you do? 2. What precautions would you take to prevent prisoners 
from carrying tools from the workshop to their cells? 3. If you were gate- 






44 


keeper how would you examine each of the following passing from the 
grounds to the outside to satisfy yourself that no prisoner was escaping: 

(a) A load of hay, (b) A load of 'manure, (c) A load of 24 inch tile. 4. If 
you had charge of twelve prisoners and noticed a fight between two convicts 
not under your charge at a distance of 10 rods from you, what would you 
do? 5. What are the main purposes of a prison? 6. Describe the proper 
care of a rifle and give the necessary precautions in the use of a rifle assigned 
to you for use in guarding the walls. 7. Assume that one of your duties is 
to keep the time of prisoners in a workshop and that the hours are from 
7 a. m. to 12 and from 1 p. m. to 6. Thirty-nine men report at 7 a. m. 
Seven men are at band practice from 8 to 9. Three men are taken sick 
and removed to the hospital at 11. Two new men report at 3 p. m. How 
many men are in the gang at the end of the day? 

Oral. —The oral examination includes such questions as will bring out 
the candidate’s brightness and familiarity with the work of a guard. 

DEPUTY WARDEN. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; knowledge of admin¬ 
istrative duties, written 5, oral 2. 

Knowledge of administrative duties. —1. (a) Wha;t in your opinion 
should be the qualifications of an applicant for the position of deputy war¬ 
den? (b) If appointed to the position of deputy warden, state what means 
you would use to further fit yourself for the performance of its duties. 2. 
Outline your plan for maintaining discipline, (a) On the part of employees. 

(b) On the part of the inmates. 3. What events should you report to the 
managing officer? 4. (a) Who should interview a prisoner first upon his 
entering a prison? Why? (b) What should be the nature of this inter¬ 
view? 5. What is an organization as applied to a prison? 6. Should a 
deputy warden report to the warden every infraction of the rules by offi¬ 
cers? Why? 7. What is the purpose of a prison? 8. (a) What particular 
considerations would determine you in the assignment of a new inmate to 
an occupation? (b) Would you require all inmates to do tasks assigned 
them, or would you require more of some than of others? 9. Should an 
assistant superintendent be court officer? ID so, would you hear the prison¬ 
er’s side? Would you place much credence in his explanation? Why? 
10. (a) If you thought the orders of a managing officer wrong would you 
carry them out? Why? (b) If officers complained to you about your 
superior officers what would be your answer? 

PA'ROLE AGENT, 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 2; technical, written, 4 2/3; 
oral, 2 1/3. 

Technical. —1. State briefly the provisions and purpose of the parole 
law. 2. Why is the indeterminate sentence an essential part of the parole 
law? 3. What points beside a convict’s conduct in prison should be con¬ 
sidered by the Board of Pardons in granting or refusing a parole? 4-5. 
Describe fully the duties of a State Parole Agent, as you understand them. 
(Write at least 300 words.) 6-7. Assume you are a parole officer and state 
what kind of conduct you would expect and what kind of supervision you 
would give to each of the following cases: (a) John Doe, age 25, farmer 
boy, of previously good reputation, who served term for assault as result 
of a fight, (b) Richard Roe, age 40, good education and appearance, 
served four terms, on charges of forgery, (c) William Smith, age 24, who 
was in a reformatory and served a term in penitentiary for larceny, and 
who is obviously stupid and weakminded. 8. Suppose you receive a tele¬ 
phone call that one of your paroled men had been arrested, how would you 
proceed? 9. If the mother of Henry Jones, one of your charges, reports to 
you that he refuses to work, remains out late every night and is drinking, 
what would you do? Answer fully. 10. If one of your charges is taken into 
police court charged with burglary, (a) should you attend the hearing? 
(b) Should you take the attitude of prosecutor or defender? (c) If the 
prisoner is held to the grand jury, what action would you take? 11. (a) 



45 


Suppose the employer who signs a parole for one year should sell out or 
change his mind, what would you do? (b) Assuming that a paroled man 
may be injured, or sick, or otherwise in need of relief, to what city, county 
and voluntary agencies would you appeal for cooperation? 12. Suppose you 
are sent to another state to return a parole violator, who is under arrest 
there, state what legal procedure would be necessary, (a) As to extradi¬ 
tion? (b) In case of prisoner’s appeal to habeas corpus? 


I 


l 



4 G 


CHAPTER XI. 

t 


MISCELLANEOUS POSITIONS. 

There are many positions in the State service which do not fall naturally 
in the scope of the foregoing chapters. Among them are some of the most. 
attractive positions filled by examination, such as food chemist and chief 
engineer; some are attractive to persons of technical training such as 
junior engineer in the Highway Commission and library assistant at the 
University and State libraries; some would be preferred by those who love 
life in the open, such as deputy game and fish warden, or head farmer. The 
variety is great. There is scarcely a line of activity not included. 

In many of these examinations, an oral or practical test is held on a 
different date from the written portion. In such cases, it is prescribed that 
only those who attain a certain grade in the written examination, usually 
60 per cent or 65 per cent, will be admitted to the oral test, which is held 
later at some central point. 

In most cases the training and experience of the applicant counts for 
3 points out of 10, in a few cases, 4 points. The headings, under which the 
rest of the test may be divided, differ materially according to the nature of 
the position. Usually the portion on the law governing the department 
and the duties of the particular position have the largest weight. 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Some typical questions follow, not including “Training and Experience”: 

HOUSEKEEPER. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; knowledge of duties, 
5 y 2 ; common school requirements, 1*4. 

Knowledge of duties and general information. —1. What qualifications, 
in your judgment, are essential in a housekeeper? 2. How would you plan 
your work in order that it might be well done and on time, and no depart¬ 
ment be neglected? 3. How would you proceed to interest those under you 
in their work that you might have good service, and also care taken of all 
supplies given, when you found they knew absolutely nothing of order or 
economy? 4. After giving orders to those for whom you are responsible, 
would you feel justified in no further supervision of their work? If not, 
why? 5. What would you do to gain the respect and confidence of your 
co-workers in order that they would feel perfectly free to confer with you 
on all conditions of service? 6. (a) Where would you look on assuming the 
duties of housekeeper for unhealthy conditions, if, on entering you should 
find the so-called institution odor? (b) What conditions would follow 
neglect in keeping refrigerators clean? (c) How would you care for dark, 
damp corners, toilets, sinks, and basements? (d) How exterminate bed 
bugs and roaches? 7. How often would you change bed linens, air beds, 
turn mattresses, and air sleeping, as well as other apartments? Why is this 
necessary? 8. When supplies, such as table and bed linens are partially 
worn, how could you utilize them to prolong their use? 9. (a) How would 
you mark and sort all kinds of clothes before sending them to the laundry? 
(b) On the return from the laundry, what would you do with the clothes? 
10. (a) How often would you make an inventory of supplies received and 
account for supplies used and worn out? (b) How would you go about 
making such an inventory? 11. (a) What would you do to prevent an 




47 


unreasonable breakage of dishes, or waste of all kinds of foods and supplies? 

(b) Would you think it necessary to watch the kitchen and dining-room 
garbage cans? If so, why? 12. (a) What should a housekeeper’s duty be in 
regard to the rules relating to the management of an institution? (b) Should 
the orders of a superior officer be questioned? (c) Would it be advisable 
for a housekeeper to be confidential with inmates? Why? 13. In case of a 
disagreement with your co-workers, what would you do? 14. How many 
hours should a housekeeper work? 15. What would you do in case of fire? 

Common school requirements. —1. If five chambermaids are required to 
perform service in a dormitory for 110 patients, how many maids, each 
performing the same amount of work, will be required to serve 198 patients? 

2. Make out a report of a supply of linen necessary for one week, for one 
officer’s dining-room, containing four tables, each seating eight persons; 
four dormitories, each containing eight single beds, and six private bath¬ 
rooms. 3. Give the total combined cost of the following articles for the 
month of September, 1913, which were served each day during the month: 

Daily ration of 68 pounds meat at 1214 cents per pound. 

Daily ration of 32 loaves bread at 4 cents each. 

Daily ration of 4 pounds butter at 25 cents per pound. 

HOUSEMOTHER AND HOUSEFATHER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; educational, 2; know¬ 
ledge of duties, 2; personal qualifications (oral), 3; physical examination. 

Educational. —1. A note for $375 is dated February 5, 1914, and draws 
interest at 7 per cent per annum; what amount is necessary to pay the note 
in full today? 2. Tell something of any four of the following: Thomas A. 
Edison, Monroe Doctrine, Victoriana Huerta, Initiative and Referendum, 
Industrial Revolution, Panama Canal. 3. How do you account for the 
present high cost of living? 4. Name four large cities in the United States 
and give an important fact about each. 5. In 100 to 150 words, tell the more 
important facts about the present war in Europe. 

Knowledge of duties. —1. Describe several Sunday amusements suitable 
for children in institutions. 2. (A) What sort of reading is suitable for the 
following classes of children: (a) Boy 12 years old. (b) Boys 16 years old. 

(c) Girls 6 years old. (d) Girls 10 years old. (B) How would you get 
such children to read the sort of material you consider suitable for them? 

3. (a) What problems result from the sort of life children lead in institu¬ 

tions? (b) What is the best method of dealing with these problems? 4. 
What are the important mental and physical changes in children between 
the ages of 10 and 16? 5. What are some of the things that might lead to 

insubordination among children in a cottage? 6. State in detail what you 
would do if you had charge of 35 children in a cottage and fire should 
break out at 2 a. m. 7. Is corporal punishment ever justifiable? Why, or 
why not? 8. Assume that you are in charge of a cottage in which 30 
children live. Tell in detail what you would do to keep it clean and 
sanitary. 

A brief oral and physical examination is also given. 

STEWARD. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 4; technical, 6. 

Technical. —1. What are tl]e duties and responsibilities of the steward? 
2. What are the duties of the storekeeper, and what relation, if any, does 
he sustain to the steward? 3. What are the duties of the chief cook, and to 
whom is he immediately responsible in his employment? 4. What per¬ 
centage of butter fat would you require in milk and in cream supplied to a 
State institution, and how would you ascertain whether the required per¬ 
centage was present? 5. What temperature (Fahrenheit) is essential to 
keep meats, fruits, vegetables, and milk, respectively, in proper condition 
for use? 6* How short a time (general custom) should elapse between the 
slaughter and use of meat? 7. How do you distinguish between cow and 
steer meat in making selection from a carcass hanging in cooler? 8. If the 
feet and head are removed, how can you determine whether a duck, goose, 
turkey, or chicken is young or old? 9. How do you ascertain the per capita 
cost, per day, of maintenance? Give a supposititious case and show the 


48 


method by which you obtain the result. 10. (a) What number (crew) of 
people, not including the chief cook, do you consider absolutely necessary 
in a kitchen which is to furnish food for 2,000 people, three meals per 
day? (b) What equipment (not cooking utensils) do you consider essential 
for use in preparing food for the number of people indicated? 

WATCHMAN. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; duties, 7. (The appli¬ 
cant must be in good physical condition.) 

Duties. —1. What, in your opinion, are the principal duties of a watch¬ 
man? 2. What qualifications do you think a good watchman should have? 
3. If you found a trespasser in a building or on the grounds, what would 
you do? 4. If you discovered a fire in a basement, what would you do? 
5. What would you do, while on night duty, to guard against a tendency to 
sleep? 6. If your tour of inspection required 50 minutes to complete, how 
often during a 9-hour shift should it be made? 7. If the rules required that 
no person should be found outside the buildings after 10 p. m., what would 
you do if you frequently found an employee violating this rule? 8. Should 
a watchman give special attention to any particular building of an institu¬ 
tion? If so, which one, and why? 9. Assume that, during one night’s 
inspection, you find at 12 p. m., an engineer in the superintendent’s office; 
at 12.40 a. m., a relief (not your relief) watchman 10 minutes late; at 1 
a. m., a fireman asleep in engine room; at 10.30 p. m., two employees leaving 
main building; at 3 a. m., door off main corridor to north wing unlocked; 
at 9.02 p. m., dray leaving supply house. Make a written report on the 
above facts, arranging the incidents in order of their occurrence after 6 
p. m., and explaining what you did on each occasion. 10. What would you 
do if, .while making your rounds, you failed to “pull” one of your signal 
boxes? 

CHIEF ENGINEER. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 3; steam engines, 1; steam 
boilers, 1; steam pumps, 1; electrical machinery, 1; heating and ventilation, 
y 2 ; refrigeration, y 2 ; sketching, 1; arithmetic, 1. 

Steam engines. —1. What is a compound engine? Why used? 2. An 
engine is working at its maximum capacity, exhausting to the atmosphere; 
it is desired to increase the load 25 per cent without increasing the steam 
pressure or the speed. How could this change be effected? 3. What advant¬ 
age is there in a compound engine over a single engine, where the service 
conditions are such that the engine must exhaust against a gauge pressure 
of five pounds? 4. Regardless of design, into how many classes are steam 
engines divided? Name them. 5. What are the advantages of a four-valve 
engine? 6. Explain in detail the operation of valve setting on a single 
eccentric Corliss engine. 7. An open feed water heater heats the entire 
feed water supply for a battery of boilers aggregating 1,200 h. p. How many 
gallons of water per hour must it handle when the boilers are running at 
rated load? 8. (a) Draw an indicator card such as you would expect from 
a Corliss engine, showing admission much too late and leaking piston. 

(b) Draw ^another card showing the above mentioned defects corrected. 

(c) Explain your method of figuring h. p. as shown by these cards, assum¬ 

ing your own conditions. 9. Explain in detail your method of starting a 
250 h. p. tandem compound non-condensing high speed engine direct, coupled 
to 110 volt direct current generator. N 

Steam toilers. —1. In boiler construction, which is preferable, hand or 
machine riveting? Give reasons. 2. A boiler fitted with a safety valve set 
at 100 pounds, and another safety valve also set at 100 pounds, is fitted to 
the outlet of the first one. What will be the approximate pressure in boiler 
when blowing off through both valves? 3. How do you figure the safe work¬ 
ing pressure of a boiler? 4. (a) Describe the construction of a steam 
gauge, (b) Why is a loop used in connecting to boiler? 5. (a) Describe 
a fuel economizer, (b) What effect does the use of an economizer have on 
the chimney draft? (c) What effect does an economizer have on foreign 
matter in boiler feed water? 6. How would you proceed to wash a water 
tube boiler of the “Heine” type? 7. (a) State in detail the difference between 


49 


a water tube boiler, a Babcock & Wilcox water tube boiler, and a 

Stirling water tube boiler, (b) State in detail the difference between a 
return tubular boiler, a Scotch Marine boiler, and a locomotive type tire 
box boiler, (c) How many pounds of water per pound of good Illinois lump 
coal would you expect each of the above types of boilers to evaporate? 
8. Describe briefly an evaporation test on a boiler. 9. State briefly the 
causes and remedies for the following boiler troubles: (a) bags; (b) blis¬ 
ters; (c) grooving; (d) laminated sheets; (e) pitting. 

Steam pumps. —1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an 
outside center packed plunger pump? 2. Why is an auxiliary steam valve 
necessary on all single cylinder steam pumps? 3. Should a pump, pumping 
hot water and receiving it at atmospheric pressure, be placed above or 
below the source of supply? Why? 4. (a) What is the efficiency of an 
injector when used as boiler feed pump? (b) Can an injector be used in 
conjunction with a feed water heater? 5. How do you set the steam valves 
on a duplex pump? 

Electrical machinery. —1 . Will compound wound dynamos run satisfac¬ 
torily in parallel if the series coils are not connected by means of an 
equalizer? 2. Explain the method of winding electric motors of following 
types: Shunt, Series, Compound. 3. How many 16 c. p. lamps may be 
permitted on one circuit? 4. What changes will have to be made and what 
apparatus, if any, will have to be purchased in order to use a 50 h. p. direct 
current, 110 volt, motor as a belted generator? 5. What would be the K. W. 
rating of the above machine when used as a generator? 6. If your switch¬ 
board volt meter indicated 220 volts and the total output was 500 amperes, 
what would be the resistance in ohms of the circuit (direct current)? 

Heating and ventilation. —1 . Describe the following heating systems: 
(a) Direct; (b) Plenum; (c) Gravity; (d) Vacuum. 2. Which system is 
better adapted for institution use, steam or hot water? Give reasons. 3. In 
a schoolroom there are 25 children. How many cubic feet of air must be 
supplied per hour properly to ventilate this room? 4. An engine takes steam 
at 100 pounds pressure and exhausts into a heating system against 2 pounds 
back pressure. Approximately what per cent of the original heat in the 
steam (at 100 pounds pressure) is delivered to the heating system? 5. (a) 
Explain the operation of an automatic air valve; (b) In a hot water heating 
system, what are the usual temperatures of the flow and the return lines? 
(c) What is the approximate relative cost of installation between a low 
pressure steam heating system and the hot water heating system for a 
private house? (d) Which would you recommend? 

Refrigeration. —1. State the essential difference between a York Single 
Acting Vertical Compressor, and a Linde Double Acting Horizontal Com¬ 
pressor, describing your method of adjusting the clearance in each of the 
two machines. 2. How is the formation of a “feather” prevented in artificial 
ice made by the Can System? 3. (a) What two chemicals are used in the 
making of “brine?” (b) Which makes the best “brine?” (c) What is meant 
by sharp freezing? 

Sketching. —1. Sketch a longitudinal section of a steam engine cylinder, 
piston, piston rod, connecting rod and crank, placing the various parts in 
such a manner as to illustrate the effects of angularity of connecting rod. 
2. Sketch a longitudinal section of a horizontal return tubular boiler and 
setting. 3. Sketch a longitudinal section of bowl of syphon jet closet. 4. 
How are blue-prints made? 

Arithmetic. —1. If a brickmason can lay 1,500 brick per day and brick 
are worth $6.25 per thousand, how much will it cost to build a wall 40 feet 
long, 10 feet high and 18 inches thick, salary of mason $5.20 per day? 2. If 
Bangor slate is worth $7.50 per square, what will it cost to cover a roof 60 
feet by 90 feet? 3. How many cubic yards of dirt would have to be moved 
in digging a well 8 feet in diameter and 40 feet deep? 4. A painter agrees 
to furnish material and labor for interior paintings at 15 cents per square 
yard; how much would it cost to paint walls and ceiling of a room 38 feet 
wide, 62 feet long, and 10 feet high? 


—4 C S 


50 


DAIRYMAN. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 4; technical, 6. (The 
applicant must be in good physical condition.) 

Technical. —1. Tell what crops you would raise for a dairy herd and 
why you would prefer these crops. 2. What is a balanced ration? State 
the feeds, and give approximate amounts of each, which you would feed to 
secure a balanced ration. 3. How do you tell the amount and kind of feed 
to give a cow that is producing milk? 4. Tell how to feed and care for a 
cow before and immediately after calving. 5. How would you feed and care 
for a heifer from birth to six months old? From six months to freshing 
time? 6. How would you feed, house, care for, and manage a bull from six 
months to two and one-half years old? An old bull? 7. (a) What precautions 
would you take to prevent tuberculosis? (b) To prevent contagious abor¬ 
tion? 8. Give symptoms and treatment for (a) garget and (b) milk-fever. 
9. State how you would prepare the cows for milking and how you would 
handle the milk until delivered for consumption, to insure a practical method 
of obtaining a clean, safe product? 10. How would you wash and care for 
dairy utensils and apparatus? 

HEAD FARMER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; gardening, crops, dairy¬ 
ing, equipment, soil, and management, 7. 

Gardening. —1 . Classify and give directions for the storage of winter 
vegetables. 2. Give directions for the making and management of a hot-bed. 
3. With what tools should a large vegetable garden be equipped? 4. How 
may weeds in a garden be kept under control at the least expense? 5. Upon 
the basis of their feeding habits, into what two classes may insects be 
divided? 6. What spraying materials are used for combating each class? 7. 
Name some standard varieties of vegetables. 8. Give plan, including varie¬ 
ties, for starting 10 acres of strawberries, and its management for five years. 
9. Give plan for growing the bush fruits. 10. Give plan for growing celery, 
from germination of seed to harvesting the crop. 11. Give treatments for 
potato scab and potato blight. 12. Describe pistillate and staminate, and 
give examples. 

Crops. —1. Describe how you would seed fields to clover and alfalfa. 2. 
Describe your favorite system for curing clover or alfalfa hay. 3. What 
factor most commonly limits crop yields? 4. Give a system for the prepara¬ 
tion of ground to be planted to corn. 5. Give some good rotations for differ¬ 
ent parts of the State. 6. Name six most common legume crops. 7. Give 
four reasons for a rotation of crops. 8. What is meant by inoculation for 
legumes? How accomplished? 9. Name some of the most common insect 
enemies of crops, and suggest remedies. 10. What is meant by soiling crops, 
and name some. 11. Give your method of growing an oats crop. 12. Give 
methods for cultivation of corn. 13. In a State institution would it be best 
to grow crops for market or for consumption? 

Dairying. —1. Give a rotation of crops for a dairy farm. 2. Give some 
comparisons between a dairy cow and a beef cow. 3. How would you deter¬ 
mine the best cows in a dairy herd? 4. What is meant by sanitary condi¬ 
tions, and name a few principles. 5. Give some essentials for a large pro¬ 
duction of high quality milk. 6. How long would one acre of silage feed 
one cow if fed 40 pounds per day? 7. At what stage in growth should corn 
be harvested for ensilage? 8. What is meant by a “balanced ration?” 9. 
Give crop plan for an exclusive dairy farm. 10. Give plan of treatment of 
cows before milking. 11. Give plan for handling milk pails, strainers, cans, 
etc. 12. Would you pasteurize the milk produced for the inmates of State 
institutions? Why? 13. Give plan for handling manure on a dairy farm. 
14. Suggest remedy for milk fever, also garget. 

Equipment. —1. Do you understand steam or gasoline engines? 2. Name 
some essentials in the care of brood mare and foal. 3. How would you care 
for machinery when not in use? 4. Describe the best hitch for a gang plow. 
5. On which side would you sharpen a hoe? A spade? Why? 6. What is 
the speed of ensilage cutters having blower delivery? 7. Give periods of 
gestation of some domestic animals. 8, How often should a mower sickle be 


61 


sharpened when cutting heavy hay. 9. Give plan for handling brood sows. 
10. What is the most common cause of sore shoulders on work horses. 
Suggest remedy. 

The Soil. 1. Can you give a formula for permanent fertility? 2. Name 
some benefits of thorough drainage. 3. What are the functions of vegetable 
matter in the soil? 4. Name some conditions necessary for good drainage. 
5. How would you supply needed mineral elements to a soil? 6. What rota¬ 
tion, if any, would permanently maintain fertility? 7. Is the advantage of 
returning corn stalks to the land more or less than the disadvantage? Why? 
8. What is the purpose of a legume crop in rotation. 9. What fertilizer 
elements removed by 100 bushels of corn, and their commercial value? 10. 
Name some reasons for plowing and cultivating. 

Management. —1 . What class of products should be grown on a large 
farm connected with a State institution having a large number of inmates? 
2. Give a general plan for the organization of such a farm. 3. To what 
extent should such a farm be conducted for educational or demonstration 
purposes? 4. What is meant by intensive farming, and what is the greatest 
factor in intensive farming? 5. Should poultry be given a place on such a 
farm? Could you give poultry your personal attention? 6. What would you 
consider the most essential requirement in the manager of such a farm? 7. 
What difficulties would you expect in securing efficient labor from the in¬ 
mates of a State institution? 8. Should the live stock equipment on a State 
farm be pure breeds or grades? Why? 9. Should an institutional farm be 
conducted with reference to the greatest service to the inmates, or to making 
money for the State? 10. Would you attempt to enforce stringent rules 
regarding hours of labor, and how would you enforce them? 


ASSISTANT STATE VETERINARIAN. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; technical, 7. 

Technical. —1. Describe (a) natural immunity; (b) artificial immunity. 
How may the latter be produced? Give examples. 2. What is the causative 
agent of infectious abortion? Describe methods of its prevention and con¬ 
trol. 3. In cattle, how may foot-rot be distinguished from gangrenous ergo¬ 
tism? Give the treatment of each. 4. Describe the symptoms of rabies. 
How would you proceed to confirm a diagnosis in doubtful cases? 5. What 
post-mortem findings would enable you to differentiate between hog cholera 
and the intestinal type of tuberculosis? 6. Describe the symptoms and post¬ 
mortem findings of chronic bacterial dysentery (Johne’s disease). 7. When 
eradicating glanders from a. stable describe (a) The necessity for disinfec¬ 
tion; (b) Preparation of the building; (c) Selection and preparation of the 
disinfectant. 8. Under what physical condition, affecting the animal, would 
you refuse to administer sub-cutaneously (a) the mallein test; (b) the 
tuberculin test? 9. (a) Name the different methods of testing cows for tuber¬ 
culosis with tuberculin; (b) What, in your opinion, indicates a reaction to 
the sub-cutaneous tuberculin test? 10. (a) Describe clinical symptoms of 
foot and mouth disease in cattle; (b) How would you make a positive diag¬ 
nosis in doubtful cases? (c) How would you eradicate an outbreak? 

FLORIST. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; technical, 7. 

Technical. —1. What kind of a mixture makes the best potting soil for 
general use? 2. What day and night temperature is best for growing: (a) 
bedding plant; (b) Rose; (c) Carnation; (d) Palms? 3. How should 
geraniums be propagated? Carnations? Roses? 4. Name 12 annual garden 
flowers that are grown from seed, and a few that can be grown from cut¬ 
tings. 5. Give a description of a cold frame and its use. 6. How would you 
destroy caterpillars on trees and shrubs? 7. When would you prune lilacs, 
hydrangeas, and hardy shrubs of this class? Tell why. 8. Name three kinds 
of insects injurious to greenhouse plants. 9. State how you would proceed 
to destroy them. 10. Name 12 hardy shrubs. 11. Name 12 herbaceous or 
perennial plants. 


52 


DEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL. 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 2; duties and law, 3; 
building construction, 1; oral, 3. (The applicant must be in good physical 
condition.) 

Duties and law. —1. What do you consider to be the qualifications re¬ 
quired in a candidate for the position of deputy fire marshal? 2. What do 
you consider to be the duties of a deputy fire marshal in the State of Illinois? 
3. Define (a) Fire-bug; (b) Pyromaniac; (c) Incendiarism. 4. State all the 
reasons or conditions that would lead you to believe that a fire was a result 
of (a) incendiary origin; (b) spontaneous combustion. 5. (a) Give all the 
essential facts regarding the works and methods of a pyromaniac. 6. What 
would be your course of procedure in a case of a pyromaniac you had caused 
to be taken into custody? 7. What objection would there be to taking the 
testimony of a man suspected of incendiarism? 8. In securing a confession 
of an incendiary, what points would you consider necessary to make such 
confession admissible as evidence in court? 9. What is the most potent 
factor in preventing accidents and loss of life in a school house fire? 10. 
Draft a circular of caution which you might send out either at Christmas 
time or the Fourth of July? 11. You are seeking evidence to convict the 
owner of a store of arson. The man’s brother-in-law says the store was over¬ 
insured. The man denied this and retorts that his brother-in-law is actu¬ 
ated by malice. A small boy informs you that he heard that a wagon had 
“backed up” in front of the store at 4 a. m. and carted away a lot of goods. 
This the owner denies. A neighbor says that he heard a quantity of kero¬ 
sene had been delivered at the store a week before, the remains of several 
kerosene cans were found in the store after the fire, which the owner says 
were used by him in connection with sealing wax. (a) To what extent, if 
any, could you use the foregoing as legal evidence? (b) What investigations, 
if any, are necessary? (c) What investigations would you make, and what 
evidence would you endeavor to produce to substantiate each of the foregoing 
statements which you believe to be trustworthy? (d) With a view of helping 
the State’s Attorney, how would you prepare the evidence in the case? 12. 
According to the statutes, what constitutes arson in this State? 

Building construction. —1. (a) What types of buildings other than hotels 
more than two stories in height are required by State law to be equipped 
with fire escapes? (b) When do the provisions of the general fire escape act 
not apply? (c) What form of escape must be provided in every hotel room 
above the second floor? 2. What practical suggestions would you make for 
occupants or owners of a tenement house to prevent fires from each of the 
following causes: (a) Ashes; (b) Wiring; (c) Chimneys; (d) Spontaneous 
Combustion; (e) Matches and Candles; (f) Gasoline. 3. Name five impor¬ 
tant requirements to be observed in installing or equipping moving-picture 
machines. 

MINE RESC.UE ASSISTANT. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, written, 2, oral, 2; 
report, 1; practical test, 5. (The candidate must be in very good physical 
condition.) 

Report. —Suppose that you have been sent from a mine rescue station 
to a mine where an accident has occurred. Write a brief report, addressed 
to the manager of mine rescue stations, stating the preparations you made, 
what you found at the mine, and what you did there. (Assume any details 
needed.) 

Practical test. —The candidate was required to give evidence of his 
training in first aid to the injured, and also was asked questions relating 
to practical rescue work in mines and the use of the oxygen helmet. 

DEPUTY GAME AND FISH WARDEN. 

Scope and weights. —Training, 1; experience, 2; knowledge of law, 2; 
transportation routes, 1; identification of birds, fish, and game, 1; oral, 3. 
(The applicant must be in good physical condition.) 

Knowledge of law.— 1. What is the legal limit for one day’s shooting 
by one person of the following game: (a) bobwhite quail; (b) prairie 
chicken; (c) squirrel; (d) snipe; (e) plover; (f) mourning dove; (g) 


53 


duck; (h) goose; (i ) brant; (j) coot; (k) rail. 2. (a) If on December 
20 a citizen of Illinois kills 14 ducks near Havana, Ill., will he violate any 
law? (b) If so, how would you as a deputy warden in that district proceed 
to have him prosecuted? 3. What are the license fees for the following 
licenses: (a) resident game license, (b) non-resident game license, (c) 

wholesale fish market license, (d) resident license for each 100 yards of 
seine, (e) non-resident license for each 100 yards of seine. 4. Who sells 
these (see above question) licenses and how often should he send to the 
State Treasurer the money he collects? 5. On inspecting an outfit of fish 
nets, how can you tell whether the proper licenses have been obtained? 
6. What is a fish preserve and what is its purpose? 7. (a) What fish may 
be caught only with hook and line in Illinois? (b) What fish may never be 
sold if caught in this State? 8. (a) What is the closed season for fishing 
with nets in the rivers of this State? (b) What should the deputy wardens 
do to enforce the law at this time? 9. You are a deputy warden and a 
farmer complains that a hunter from town killed robins and meadow larks 
on a Sunday trip. The hunter admits this but says the farmer has killed 
robins that were eating cherries in his orchard. Explain whether either or 
both of these men violated the law and how.. 10. A deputy warden in 
Chicago in October examining a barrel tagged “Fish,” shipped from Peoria, 
discovers it to be filled with wild ducks. Describe in detail what he should 
do. 11. How must confiscated fish be disposed of? 12. How must con¬ 
fiscated game be disposed of? 

Transportation and inspection. —1. If a deputy warden is ordered to 
proceed to a certain small city and inspect all shipments of fish and game 
received there for a week, how should he go about it? 2. From what points 
in this State are the largest shipments of fish to markets made? 3. What 
railroads carry the largest percentage of the above mentioned shipments? 
4. How would you proceed to search for illegal fish or game in an express 
company’s office? 5. How would you proceed to look for illegal fish or game 
in transit between two points, if ordered to inspect the shipments on a 
certain railroad? 

Identification of specimens. —The candidate was required to identify 19 
birds, 13 fish and 2 small animals, all common in Illinois, and to state the 
requirements of the law, such as open season and the minimum legal size 
of fish. 

Oral. —The oral examination related to the personal qualifications of 
the applicant and his judgment under assumed circumstances. 

FOOD CHEMIST. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 4; inorganic chemistry, 
2; organic analysis and microscopy, 4. 

Inorganic Chemistry. —1. What indicator would be used in the following 
reactions, and why: NH 4 OH plus HCL; Na 2 C0 3 plus HCL; CH 3 COOH plus 
NaOH; NaCl plus AgN0 3 . How would you prepare and standardize a tenth 
normal solution of KMn0 4 ; a 1.25 per cent solution of sulphuric acid? 3. 
(a) A sample of a food stuff contains 15.1 per cent of H 2 0, but is dried to 
2.3 per cent H 2 0 and is then analyzed with the following results: Starch, 
17.1 per cent; fat, 4.3 per cent; ash, 1.17 per cent. What were the per¬ 
centages of these three constituents in the original sample? (b) The 
calcium oxalate precipitate from a solution representing .213 g. of limestone 
requires 16.4 c. c. of n/10 KMn0 4 . Calculate the per cent of CaC0 3 in the 
limestone. Atomic wts. Ca 40.07; C 12.00; O 16.00. 4. How would you 
determine iron in the ash of wheat? 5. How would you test a sample or 
hydrogen peroxide for the per cent of H 2 S0 4 ; of arsenic? 6. What method 
would you use to determine the per cent of CaC0 3 in a chicken feed con¬ 
sisting of wheat, corn, sunflower seed, charcoal, calcium phosphate and 
calcium carbonate? 

Organic analysis and microscopy. —1. Discuss in detail the significance 
of the analytical data and physical characteristics which should be con¬ 
sidered in connection with the examination and analysis of shelled eggs to 
determine their fitness for human consumption. 2. Describe the methods of 
analysis of a sample of vinegar covering the following details: acidity, 


54 


total solids, ash, polarization, lead acetate precipitate. If the specimen 
labeled “Pure Cider Vinegar’’ yielded an analysis as follows: Acetic acid, 
4.66 per cent; total solids, 2.92 per cent; ash, .2 per cent; ash in solids, 
6.49 per cent; polarization (in 200 mm. tube) plus 2.2; lead acetate, no 
precipitate. What would be your judgment as to the genuine or spurious 
character of the sample? Give your reasons for your opinion. 3. Describe 
the methods o fobtaining the Reichert-Meissl number, the saponification 
value, and the iodine number of fats. 4. How would you distinguish olive 
oil from cottonseed oil? 5. Give the methods for the following determina¬ 
tions: (a) sucrose in syrup, (b) total sulphur in a ground cereal. 6. By 
what characteristics would you detect the following under the microscope: 
(a) wheat flour, (b) calcium oxalate, (c) ground oats, (d) potato starch, 
(e) cottonseed meal, (f) yeast. 7. (a) Give a qualitative test for each of 
the following: (e) aldehydes, (2) proteins, (3) organic acids, (b) How 
would you determine the melting point on a sample supposed to be vanillin 
if only .01 gram was available for the test? 8. Describe the method of 
manufacture of any one of the following products: beer, glucose, vinegar, 
malt, glycerine, gelatin, whiskey. 9. Name and write formulas for five 
carbohydrates; four alcohols, four organic acids; two aldehydes. 10. 1.65 g. 
of flaxseed is used in a protein determination, and the ammonia formed 
exactly neutralizes 60.4 c. c. of n/10 acid. The same sample is found to 
contain 6.25 per cent of fibre and 38.1 of oil. If 34.3 per cent of oil is 
pressed from the seed what will be the percentages of protein, oil, and fibre 
in the seed after pressing? 

ASSISTANT EXAMINER, (CIVIL SERVICE). 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; oral, 2; preparation 
and conduct of examinations, 5. 

Oral. —This part of the examination related to the personal qualifica¬ 
tions of the applicant, his familiarity with the civil service law, and his 
judgment under certain assumed circumstances. 

Preparation and conduct of examination. —1 and 2. Grade the attached 
examination papers in an examination for the position of Clerk Grade II, 
and give your reasons for each mark in the space at the right hand side. 
3. In what subjects would you examine an applicant for the position of 
matron in the State Training Schcool for Girls? Give your reasons. State¬ 
ment of duties of matron, is as follows: “Matron has charge of an assigned 
number of inmates of an institution; directs housekeeping and in some 
cases disciplinary work.” 4. Draw up a set of instructions for monitors 
governing the proper supervision of an examination. 5. What is the pur¬ 
pose of: (a) A civil service examination? (b) A school examination? (c) 
In the preparation of the former, what guiding principles would you follow? 
6. Outline what, in your opinion, should be a proper examination for a 
stenographer, giving details. 7. As assistant examiner, you have been asked 
to give the most effective publicity to examinations called for the following 
positions: physician, stationary engineer, school teacher. State what 

means you would use in each case. 8. Section 4, of Rule III of the Rules 
of the State Civil Service Commission is as follows: (General Average) — 
All examinations shall embrace subjects to which weights shall be assigned 
to represent their respective relative values in determining the fitness of 
applicants. Each subject of examination shall be graded independently; 
this grade shall be multiplied by the weight assigned to such subject; the 
resulting products shall be added; the total of the products shall be divided 
by the total weight of all subjects in the examination; and the resulting 
quotient shall be the general average to be used in determining the order 
in which the names of the candidates shall appear on the eligible register. 
In an examination for the position of guard the scope and weights were 
as follows: Special subject, weight of 4; training and experience, weight 
of 3; educational, weight of 1; physical, 2. A certain applicant, No. 716, 
received the following grades: Special subject, 75; training and experience, 
70; educational, 80; physical, 85. Find the general average of No. 716. 

LIBRARY ASSISTANT. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; technical, 7. 


55 


Technical. —The last question is numbered “4-10” to indicate that, 
relatively, it weighs as much as seven ordinary questions. 1. Give the 
distinctive features of the system of book classification with which you are 
most familiar. 2. Answer either (a) or (b): (a) Explain 15 of the fol¬ 

lowing class numbers: 425, 904, 620.3, 864, 973, 520.9, 331, 105, 554.4, 881, 
914.2, 810, 913.37, 650, 350, 780, 317, 342.73, 917.3, 550.5. (b) Give class num¬ 

bers or letters, according to any system of classification with which you are 
familiar, for 12 of the following subjects: Zoology, Travel in Italy, German 
Newspapers, Dictionary of Psychology, French Poetry, Medical Journals, 
Essays on Education, Dictionary of Musical Terms, Geology of Mexico, 
Foreign Relations of United States, History of Agriculture, Essays on Archi¬ 
tecture, Greek Archeology, Evolution, Biography of H. W. Dongfellow. 3. 
Answer both (a) and (b): (a) Give the best form of entry for the fol¬ 

lowing: Bulletin of the insular affairs Bureau of the U. S. War Department. 
Reports issued by the U. S. Bureau of Labor, (b) The Library Committee 
of your library considers Library of Congress cards an extravagance. Give 
all arguments you can in favor of their use, telling also the cost, the ways 
in which they may be ordered, and where order numbers may be found. 
4-10. Catalogue on cards as completely as you can from the information 
given, six of the following books. Write in full all the necessary cards, 
assign the necessary subject headings; indicate in your paper whether 
your cards are made for a dictionary catalogue, or a classed catalogue, etc. 
Draw a circle about such words (if there are any) on the cards that you 
think should be in red ink. Write your examination number (not your 
name) on each card. Fasten your cards together with a rubber band. 

The applicant was given the sample title pages of 13 books for use in 
answering the above question. 

Technical , Second Payer. —1. Write a letter, in proper business form, to 
the firm of A. S. Bland & Son, Chicago, ordering for a public or school 
library the books listed below. Sign an assumed name, as librarian. 

Memoirs of Li Hung Chang; edited by William Francis Mannix, with 
an introduction by Hon. John W. Foster. Boston and New York. Houghton, 
Mifflin & Company. 1913. (Order two copies.) 

The Soapmakers Handbook of Materials, Processes, and Receipts; edited 
chiefly from the German of Dr. C. Deite, with additions by William T. Brandt. 
Second edition, revised and in great part rewritten. Philadelphia. H. C. 
Baird & Company. 1912. 

Gitanjali (Song offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore; with an introduc¬ 
tion by W. B. Yeats. Macmillan & Co., London. 1913. 

The Struggle for Bread; a reply to “The Great Illusion.” London. 
Jane Lane Company. New York. John Lane Co. 1913. 

The Part of Adventure, by C. N. and A. M. Williamson, Garden City, 
N. Y. Doubleday, Page & Co. 1913. (Library binding.) 2. Define each of 
the following and tell how it may be of use in a library: (a) Accession 
record; (b) Shelf list; (c) List of books withdrawn from the library. 3. 
Rule off a card, or any form of serial record with which you are familiar, 
and check the receipt of the numbers of the periodical listed below: 

Teachers’ Magazine. (Not published in July and August.) 

1909, June, Vol. 6, No. 1; 

1909, September, Vol. 6, No. 2; 

1909, October, Vol. 6, No. 3; 

1909, December, Vol. 6, No. 5; 

1910, January, Vol. 6, No. 6; 

1910, February, Vol. 7, No. 1; 

1910, March, Vol. 7, No. 2; 

1910, April, Vol. 7, No. 3; 

1910, May, Vol. 7, No. 4; 

1910, June, Vol. 7, No. 5; 

1910, September, Vol. 7, No. 6; 

1910, October, Vol. 7, No. 7; 

1910, November, Vol. 7, No. 8; 

1910, December, Vol. 7, No. 9. 


56 


4. Answer either (a) or (b), and answer (c). (a) Name and describe 
briefly five public documents which would be of value in a public library; 

(b) Name and describe briefly five public documents which would be of 
value in a normal school library; (c) Describe the best method of securing 
these documents. 5. In what reference book or books would you expect to 
find answers to any 10 of the following: (a) The attributes of Zeus; (b) 
Brief description of the city of Bloomington, Ill.; (c) Meaning of the phrase 
“noli me tangere”; (d) Author of “School for Scandal”; (e) Account of 
the movement known as Transcendentalism; (f) Real name of George Sand; 
(g) Brief biographic sketch of Carter H. Harrison; (h) Mailing address 
(state, city, street and number) of Julia Lathrop; (i) The text in English 
of the latest constitution of Japan; (j) A map showing the location of the 
clans of Scotland; (k) A reproduction of Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna.” 
(1) A recent and fully illustrated article on the monotype. 6. Suppose 
yourself to be working as an assistant in a normal school library in Illinois. 
The school debating team wishes to debate with another normal school team. 
What question would you suggest; state briefly one argument on the affirma¬ 
tive of the question and one on the negative; what general aids would you 
procure for the debaters? Be specific in your answer. 7. Give a list of what 
you would consider adequate trade bibliographical equipment for an average 
public library that spends about $800 per year for books. 8. Where would 
you look for the following (choose any three of the six): 

(a) Number of titles published up to 1879 in a series described by the 

words “Shakespear’ scher Stucke fur Schulen, hrsg. von E. Schmidt.” 

(b) Full list of Winston Churchill’s works, with date, publisher and price 

of each. 

(c) Title of a recently published work in French on Paris bridges. 

(d) Price of transactions of the Gas Institute (British) for 1900. 

(e) Author, publisher and price of “V. V.’s eyes.” 

(f) Publisher, date of publication and price of Senator Cullom’s “Fifty 

Years of Public Service.” 

9. Give a good rule for either a normal school library or a State library to 
follow in regard to each of the following: the number of books which a 
reader may borrow at one time; fines for overdue books; loaning books to 
other libraries; the loan of books to pupils in the local schools; the loan of 
books to high school teachers. 10. What is meant by (a) The A. L. A. Book¬ 
list; (b) The Readers’ Guide; (c) A Reader’s Card; (d) A Library Com¬ 
mission; (e) A Municipal Reference Library? 

JUNIOR ENGINEER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; specifications, 2; analy¬ 
sis of simple structures, 1; road design and construction, 2; concrete high¬ 
way bridge design and construction, 2. 

Specifications. —1. “It shall be the duty of the inspector to see that the 
provisions of the contract and specifications are fulfilled by the contractor; 
in case all the requirements of the specifications are not fulfilled, to report 
the same immediately to the engineer. Any instructions which the inspector 
'may give the contractor shall in no wise be construed as releasing the con¬ 
tractor from the proper fulfillment of the terms of this contract as deter¬ 
mined by the engineer. The inspector will perform such other duties as 
the engineer may indicate.” State certain difficulties which you think might 
arise in the progress of the work; then say how you would handle them 
under the above specification. 2. “After the stone has been spread, it shall 
be rolled to the satisfaction of the engineer.” What would be your comment 
on such a clause? 

Analysis of simple structures. —1. List the steps, in consecutive order, 
that you would go through in determining the amount and nature of the 
stresses in the various members and parts of a pin-connected highway Pratt 
truss. 

Road design and construction. —1. Explain the principles of construc¬ 
tion of each of the following kinds of roads: (a) Dragged earth road, (b) 
Concrete. 2. Give a list of the items on which cost should be kept on 
water-bound macadam construction. 3. Give an outline of the data that 


57 


should be secured when making a survey of the improvement of a country 
highway. How much time and how many men would be required in mak¬ 
ing a survey for one mile of road 4. (a) What is the maximum distance 
to which it is economical to move dirt by (1) slip scrapers, (2) wheel 
scrapers, (b) Within what limits should the cost per cubic yard vary for 
each of the above methods? 

Concrete highway bridge design and construction. —1. (a) Sketch a 
section through a cantilever reinforced concrete retaining wall. Indicate 
where the reinforcement should be placed, (b) List the steps necessary to 
produce the design of the slab and girders of a through girder concrete high¬ 
way bridge. 2. Under what conditions is it proper to use sand which con¬ 
tains clay or loam? 3. How would you determine whether a continuous 
mixer is delivering concrete of the proper proportion? 4. What informa¬ 
tion would you secure to enable the office force to design the foundation for a 
bridge abutment or pier? 5. Assume that the analysis of an unscreened 
gravel shows 60 per cent sand and 55 per cent stone (with reference to the 
original volume of the gravel). How many sacks of cement should be used 
per cubic yard of gravel, assuming that one part of cement is to be used 
with each 2 y 2 parts of sand? 


) 


« 


58 


CHAPTER XII. 


SKILLED LABOR POSITIONS. 

Examinations for skilled labor positions may be of any one of three 
types (a) written, (b) unassembled, or (c) practical test. Practical tests 
are being used in most cases. The written examinations are similar in 
character to those outlined in previous chapters, the questions being such 
as to bring out the applicants experience and his knowledge of the details 
of his trade. An unassembled examination is given when it is not pos¬ 
sible to bring the applicants together at the usual examination centers for 
a written or a practical test. It consists of a set of questions covering the 
training and experience of the applicant who fills out his answers on a 
sheet provided for that purpose and returns them to be graded. The iden¬ 
tity of the applicant is concealed in unassembled examinations as well as 
in the usual tests. 

When a practical examination is held, after first writing a brief state¬ 
ment of his training and experience, the applicant is given some piece of 
work to do which might come to him at any time if he were appointed to a 
position in the State service. In the following pages are typical examples. 
He is graded on the time it takes to do the job, his manner of handling the 
tools and the condition of the finished work. Questions relating to his 
duties may be asked orally by the examiner and answered orally by the 
applicant. These methods make the examinations practical for experi¬ 
enced and competent men who have difficulty in writing. 

Usually the portion of the examination covering Training and Experi¬ 
ence is given a weight of 3 out of 10 points. The other points are divided 
among the important parts of the duties of the position. Good physical 
condition is required of all applicants for such positions. 


SAMPLE QUESTIONS. 

Following are typical questions and information concerning practical 
tests, the portion on training and experience being omitted. 

ELECTRICIAN. 

Scope and weights .—Training and experience, 4; oral examination, 4; 
practical test, 2; physical examination. 

Oral. —1. What should be the proper separation of wires for the fol¬ 
lowing voltages, and under the following conditions, (a) 110 volts on open 
work, (b) 110 volts on concealed work, (c) 500 volts on open work, (d) 
500 volts on concealed work. 2. Can an electric heater circuit of 2,000 
watts be installed in metal moulding? 3. What are the principal differences 
between A. C. and D. C. arc lamps? 4. What are the advantages of the 
Edison 3-wire system over the 2-wire system? 5. What great advantages 
have shunt wound motors? 6. Explain fully one way of reversing the 
polarity of a compound wound D. C. generator. 7. What are the require¬ 
ments regarding the grounding of metallic conduit in interior wiring? 8. 
How many quarter bends are permitted between outlets on conduit work? 
9. What is the object of Underwriters Rules, and by whom are they formu¬ 
lated? 10. Where wires cross water pipes, should they run over or under 
the pipes? Why? 

The following question, No. 11, is to be asked only in case it is im¬ 
possible to give the practical test with the electric fan. 11. Give at least 
two causes of the following direct current motor troubles: (a) Hot bear- 



59 


mgs \ H °t armature or fields, (c) Sparking at the brushes, (d) Belt 
running off. (e) Motor fails to start when switch is closed. 

P r aGti c °l test. Some ordinary piece of electrical apparatus, such as a 
small desk fan, is placed in operation before the candidate who is required 
to say whether the machine is in proper working order and if not is re¬ 
quired to correct the fault . 


PLUMBER. 

Scope and weights. Training and experience, 4; oral, 3; practical, 3; 
physical. 

Oral. 1. Describe workings of a siphon jet closet. 2. How ventilate a 
trap? 3. What will prevent trap siphonage? 4. Is it necessary to ventilate 
a water closet bend? If so, why? 5. Why are soil pipe lines increased at 
the roof? 6. How would you arrange to get hot water at faucet as soon as 
opened? 7. Is it practical to place floor drains in toilet rooms? If so, how 
should they be placed? 8. How clean out an outside hose connection? 9. 
Where there is a water tank on top of a building, how would you figure the 
pressure at each floor? 

Practical tests —.1. Wipe a joint (y 2 inch T joint to 1 inch pipe). 
(Furnish each candidate an 18 inch length of y 2 inch lead pipe and an 
18 inch length of 1 inch lead pipe. Have tools and wiping cloth ready, 
furnace going, and solder and lead hot. Then inform the candidate of the 
work assigned to him and tell him that he will be graded on the time it 
takes him to do the work, the method of doing it, his manner of handling 
the tools, and the appearance of the finished job. KEEP A RECORD OF 
THE TIME HE STARTS WORK AND THE TIME HE FINISHES. In 
grading the candidates, consider only the method, manner of handling tools, 
and the appearance of the finished job. The grade on speed will be given 
after the records of all candidates are received at this office. 2. Lay out on 
a table about 30 tools and parts. Point out ten of these (one at a time) 
and have the candidates identify them by NAME, SIZE, and USE. 3. State 
any ordinary job. Have the candidate select from the table tools he would 
use. 4. Hand the candidate the set of blue prints furnished herewith 
(3 sheets) of a residence on which the plumbing is indicated. Have him 
make out a full bill of materials, indicating on the blue print the size to be 
used. Have him place his number on the blue print and on each sheet of 
paper he uses. 

FIREMAN. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience^; oral, 4; practical, 3. 

Oral. — (Select a boiler in the power plant). 1. What is the proper 
height for water in this boiler? 2. Where is the fusible plug located in this 
boiler? (Have candidate locate this*plug). 3. How would you prepare to 
cut in this boiler on the main header when other boilers are already con¬ 
nected? 4. How would you prepare this boiler for cleaning? 5. If the water 
in the boiler is low and the feed pump or injector refuses to work, what 
would yoU do? 6. How often should this boiler be blown down? 7. How 
hot should feed water be when it enters the boiler? 8. What things affect 
consumption of coal? 9. What things affect smoke production? 10. Name 
several kinds of automatic stokers? 

Practical tests.—Select a boiler. 1. Have the candidate clean the fire. 
2. (a) If there is no automatic stoker, have the candidate shake the fire 
down and fire the boiler, (b) If there is an automatic stoker, devise some 
test to bring out his familiarity with the apparatus. (Watch the action of 
the candidate and grade him on the manner in which he does his work, 
as well as on the results obtained. If possible, have the examining phy¬ 
sician watch the candidate’s action during the practical test.) 

STATIONARY ENGINEER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; boilers, 2 y 2 ; engines, 
2 y 2 ; electrical machinery, 1; pumps and heaters, 1. (The following ques¬ 
tions are all answered orally): 

Boilers. —1. How and what would you inspect in making an inspection 
of a horizontal tubular? 2. How do you clean a H. T. boiler? 3. What 


60 


precautions would you use in cutting in boilers? 4. What steps should be 
taken if water gets too low? 5. What causes foaming and priming and how 
remedied? 6. How do you figure horse power and heating surface? 7. 
Does square feet of grate surface have any bearing on the size of safety 
valve? 8. Care of tubes. 

Engines. —1. Describe the construction and operation of a direct con¬ 
nected unit. 2. Explain different appliances that are used to prevent 
wreckage of engine from water. 3. Describe Corliss valve setting (a) sim¬ 
ple, (b) compound. 4. Describe complete operation in taking down and 
lining up an engine. 5. Explain operation of two engine governors and 
state some causes of poor regulation. 6. (a) What is lap and lead? (b) 
Formula for H.P. of engine. 

Electrical. —1. What is a volt? Ampere? Ohm? 2. What is a rheo¬ 
stat? What is a starting box? 3. What causes a generator to reverse its 
polarity? 4. What is meant when we speak of the equalizer? 5. Explain 
operation of cutting two generators into parallel. 6. How would you test 
a motor or generator for a ground? . 

Pumps and heaters. —1. Describe in detail the work in overhauling a 
duplex pump. 2. Explain the use of a vacuum pump on a heating system 
and how operated. 3. Explain the difference between open and closed 
heaters and different appliances used in connecting same. 4. What should 
be the temperature of boiler feed water when leaving the heater? 5. Ex¬ 
plain the operation of a back pressure valve. 

CARPENTER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; oral, 3; practical test, 4. 

Oral. —1. What is the run of a rafter? The rise? What is meant by 
pitch? 2. How are butts placed on doors and casement windows? 3. State 
the different steps in handing double-hung windows. 4. At the point where 
a partition meets an outside wall, what should be the arrangement of the 
studding? 5. What rise and tread should be used on a stairway in a 
dwelling? What relation should exist in the width of the various treads? 
6. Name five kinds of wood used in building construction and give briefly 
the characteristics of each. 7. What kinds of wood are ordinarily used for 
the following: (a) shingles, (b) lath, (c) finish flooring, (d) rough floor¬ 
ing, (e) siding, (f) studding. 

Practical test. —Make one stringer for a stairway. You will be marked 
on your method of handling your tools, the quality of the completed work, 
and the time required. 

Specifications: Run—2 feet, 4 1/8 inches. Height—2 feet, 5 1/4 

inches. Four risers. Three steps. Make the risers mitered. You will be 
allowed a maximum of 30 minutes to complete the job. Dimensions should 
be exactly like specifications. Place your examination number in pencil on 
the completed stringer. 

STEAMFITTER. 

Scope and weights. —Training and experience, 3; oral, 3; practical 
test, 4. 

Oral. —1. What kind of pipe and fittings should be used on high pressure 
work? 2. Assume that you have to run a 400 foot pipe line leaving the 
power plant and going into another building—what fittings would you use? 
3. How much expansion would you allow for in the above pipe line? 4. 
Should a branch from a heating main be taken from the side or top of the 
main? 5. What different kinds of heating systems are there? Where is 
each one advantageous? 6. Show the candidate the reducing valve where 
the high pressure steam enters low pressure main. Ask him in what man¬ 
ner he would turn the steam into the low pressure main. 7. How is a 
vacuum maintained in a heating system? What is it for? 8. How would 
you proceed to cut a close nipple? 

Practical tests. —Have laid out some 35 or 40 different fittings and 
valves. Pick up ten of them—one at a time—have the candidate give the 
trade name, size and use of each. Indicate a place where a radiator is to be 
installed. Ask candidate to name all the tools he would need for the job. 


61 


INDEX. 


Page. 

A 

Actuary . 39 

Advanced Teacher. 41 

Age Limits. g 

Agent, Parole. 44 

Application, How to Make. 6 

Assistant Examiner i. 54 

Assistant Physician. 33 

Attendant . 36 

Attendant Examinations. 7 

B 

t Bookkeeper, Department. 18 

C 

Carpenter . (5U 

Chemist, Food. 53 

Chief Clerk. 17 

Chief Clerk, Insurance Department. 38 

Chief Engineer. 48 

Classification, Meaning of. 5 

Clerical Positions. 15 

Clerk, Chief. 17 

Clerk, Department, Rank III. 15 

Clerk, Filing. 16 

Clerk, Insurance. 37 

Court Stenographer. 24 

D 

Dairyman . 50 

Department Bookkeeper. 18 

Department Clerk, Rank III. 15 

Department Stenographer, Rank II. 20 

Department Stenographer, Rank III. 23 

Deputy Grain Inspector. 30 

Deputy Warden. 44 

Domestics’ Examinations. 7 

































62 


INDEX—Continued. 

Page. 

E 

Electrician . 58 

Engineer, Chief. 48 

Engineer, Junior. 56 

Engineer, Stationary...14, 59 

Examination, How to Prepare. 8 

Examinations, Where Held. 6 

Examiner, Assistant. 54 

Experts Make Up Questions. 9 

F 

Farmer, Head. 50 

Filing Clerk. 16 

Fireman . 59 

Fire Marshal, Deputy. 52 

Florist . 51 

Food Chemist. 53 

Food Inspector. '32 

G 

Game and Fish Warden, Deputy. 52 

Graduate Nurse. 34 

Grain, Deputy Inspector. 30 

Grain Helper.•. 29 

Grain Sampler-Clerk. 30 

Guard . 43 

H 

Head Farmer. 50 

Helper, Grain. 29 

Hospital Positions (Minor). 36 

Housefather . 47 

Housekeeper . 46 

Housemother . 47 

I 

Inspection Positions (Grain and Food). 29 

Inspector, Deputy Grain. 30 

Inspector, Food. 32 

Institutions, Location and Purpose. 10 

Insurance Clerk.-. 37 

Insurance Department Positions. 37 

Interne, Medical. . .'. 33 




































INDEX—Continued 


Page. 

L 

Laborer Examinations. 7 

. Library Assistant. 54 

M 

Marshal, Deputy Fire. 52 

Medical Interne. 33 

Medical Positions. 33 

Mine Rescue Assistant. .14, 52 

Miscellaneous Positions. 46 

N 

Nurse, Graduate. 34 

Nurse, Male Supervising. 34 

Nursing Positions. 33 

O 

Openings in the State Service. 9 

P 

Parole Agent.. 44 

Physician, Assistant. 33 

Plumber . 59 

Primary Teacher. 40 

Principal . 41 

Prison Positions. 43 

Promotion, Chance for. 5 

R 

Rescue Assistant, Mine...14, 52 

S 

Sampler-Clerk, Grain. 30 

Skilled Labor Positions. 58 

State Veterinarian, Assistant. 51 

Stationary Engineer. 14,50 

Steamfitter . 60 

Stenographer, Court. 24 

Stenographer, Department, Rank II. 20 

Stenographer, Department, Rank III. 23 

Stenographic Positions. 20 

Steward . 47 

Supervising Nurse, Male. 34 
































64 


INDEX—Concluded. 


Teacher, Advanced. 41 

Teacher, Primary. 40 

Teaching Positions. 40 

Training and Experience. 13 


Veterinarian, Assistant State 


V 


51 


W 


Warden, Deputy. 44 

Warden, Deputy Game and Fish. 52 

Watchman . 48 

Women, Opportunities for. 10 














J: I &^[A R Y O F CONGRESS 


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